The Surfside-Sunset sand replenishment project appears to be moving forward.
Last week, Rep. Michelle Steel’s office announced that her request for funding the Surfside-Sunset and Newport Beach Replenishment Project had passed the House of Representatives.
Since then, the Senate reportedly approved the funding, according to District One Councilman/Mayor Joe Kalmick.
According to Steel’s office, the project is getting $15.5 million in funding.
“We are still trying to establish details so we don’t have much further to share at this time until we have the opportunity to speak with Congresswoman Steel’s office,” wrote Assistant City Manager Patrick Gallegos in a March 10 email.
On Monday, March 14 Gallegos told the Sun that he had no updates since.
In phone interview, Kalmick pointed out that anything could happen to the funding until the president signs the bill.
Kalmick said the city also has to make sure the Army Corps of Engineers doesn’t back out.
Kalmick also said that none of the cities involved have the ability to manage that kind of money.
The proposal is to dredge about 1.75 million cubic yards of sand from an offshore site and place the sand on the Surfside-Sunset Beach area, according to the February 2022 “Draft of the Supplemental Environmental Assessment” for the project.
The document was created by the Department of the Army, Los Angeles District Corps of Engineers.
“Suitable material would be recovered just offshore Surfside-Sunset Beach,” according to the February 2022 assessment.
“This represents an increase from 1.2 mcy [million cubic yards] from the 2019 Final EA,” according to the document.
In April 2021, the Seal Beach City Council approved a resolution asking the Army Corps of Engineers to fund the project.
The most recent sand replenishment project was supposed to be funded in 2018, but was delayed for lack of Federal money, according to the April 26, 2021, staff report by Seal Beach Deputy Public Works Director/City Engineer Iris Lee.
