The Seal Beach council on Jan. 12 authorized the mayor to execute an agreement among Seal Beach, Los Angeles County and The Ocean Cleanup.
The agreement is part of the ongoing San Gabriel River Trash Initiative, a long-standing project to address the problem of trash from multiple cities flowing down the river and washing up on Seal Beach’s sands.
There was no cost to the agreement at this time, according to the staff report.
Background
“The City of Seal Beach has been experiencing significant trash accumulation on its public beach with recent data reflecting an impact of more than 400 tons per year, not counting trash already collected from area bins and dumpsters,” according to the staff report by Public Works Director Iris Lee.
“Upon receiving updates on this issue Assemblymember Diane Dixon’s office convened a San Gabriel River working group made-up of key stakeholders (Working Group) including the following entities:
“• State Assemblymembers, 69th District and 72nd District
“• State Senator, District 36
“• County of Orange (1st District)
“• County of Los Angeles (4th District)
“• City of Seal Beach
“• City of Long Beach
“• Surfrider Foundation (North Orange County & Long Beach Chapters),” Lee wrote.
“After comprehensive research efforts were completed and presented to the Working Group in January 2024, follow up action items were established and allocated to various Working Group members. One of the initial actions included the development of high-level cost estimates to implement a long-term mitigation strategy over various phases and to identify near term and future funding sources,” Lee wrote.
“The preliminary identified phases included a Feasibility / Alternative Recommendations Study (Feasibility Study), Final Design, and Implementation to complete the San Gabriel River Trash Mitigation Initiative,” Lee wrote.
“The County of Orange indicated a desire to contribute funds to kickstart this important initiative with a focus on the initial study phase. This phase included initial outreach to key stakeholders (including public agencies having jurisdiction), environmentally focused organizations, scientific entities (i.e., the Aquarium of the Pacific), regional watershed management committees, and other interested or impacted parties identified as the Feasibility Study progressed,” Lee wrote.
“While the entire initiative is estimated to cost approximately $7 million over the next three (3) to five (5) years for all phases, the Feasibility Study and supporting resources to procure external technical services, coordinate stakeholder engagement, and oversee execution of deliverables is estimated at $494,000,” Lee wrote.
“Additionally, the County of Orange desired to generate actions on more immediate efforts including beach clean-up of trash and beach ranking operations ahead of the Feasibility Study completion with these near-term services estimated at $31,000. On March 25, 2024, the City Council authorized receipt of $525,000 from the County of Orange to execute associated actions and oversight efforts for initial elements of the Initiative. Additionally, the City Council approved an award of a contract in the not-to-exceed amount of $144,000 for program management services to facilitate all associated support and oversight efforts, with the exception of the future tasks directly associated with the research, analysis, and production of deliverables for the Feasibility Study,” Lee wrote.
“To execute the Feasibility Study, specialized external resources were needed for unique expertise, including coordination of key stakeholder engagement, background in area flood control facilities, technical research and data collection, alternatives analyses, and development of a final report with recommendations for future projects. The City solicited proposals and determined that Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. (Stantec) was the most qualified firm for delivering the necessary services as a result of a multi-step, regionally supported solicitation process,” Lee wrote.
“On November 12, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution 7578 authorizing a professional services agreement with Stantec in the amount of $349,933 to develop and complete the Feasibility Study via the funding transferred from the County of Orange. The primary tasks associated with the Feasibility Study are as follows:
“1. Assessment and Data Collection
“2. Technology Research and Impacts
“3. Estimate Costs and Identify External Funding
“4. Stakeholder Engagement and Industry Outreach
“5. Alternatives Analyses and Report Development
“6. Project Management
“As the efforts of the Working Group have progressed, in parallel with the Feasibility Study development, several agencies and entities have become highly interested in the process and the eventual recommendations of the Initiative to mitigate trash in the San Gabriel River, with the added benefit of improving wildlife habitat.
“One of those entities, The Ocean Cleanup (TOC), reached out to Working Group representatives to inquire about partnering for potential design and implementation of at least one recommendation from the Feasibility Study. TOC is a known entity due to its trash mitigation efforts in the Ballona Creek flood control facility within the County of Los Angeles (LA County),” Lee wrote.
“The City and Working Group representatives coordinated with TOC to create a framework for future partnership activities encapsulated within a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The Lower San Gabriel River includes areas more closely aligned with technologies familiar to TOC and these areas are within the jurisdiction of LA County. As such, LA County is also party to this MOU,” Lee wrote.
The MOU would, according to Lee, set the groundwork for a future agreement in which The Ocean Cleanup would design and implement a river plastic interception system—subject to more than one analysis and approval by regulatory agencies.
