Newport Beach’s CAD project on pause amid lawsuit by O.C. Coastkeeper

In what may be a tentative victory for environmentalists and those opposed to the project, plans for the confined aquatic disposal site in Newport Bay have been halted as a result of a lawsuit filed by Orange County Coastkeeper.

The environmentalist group has long contested the construction of the CAD, which is meant to contain dredged material considered too toxic for open ocean release from federal channels. Opponents of the project have contended that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans wrongfully characterize the sediment as “harmless,” though city officials say the Environmental Protection Agency described it as neither toxic nor threatening.

The Coastal Commission gave the OK for the project in October 2022, and the first dredge of those same channels occurred in the summer of that year.

The second dredge was scheduled for April, though according to court documents, further work on both dredging and construction of the CAD — essentially, a deep hole that would be located in Newport Harbor — has been halted in agreement with O.C. Coastkeeper as it relates to the lawsuit. Dredging of the federal channels is necessary as it allows for the safe navigation of Newport Bay.

In a statement announcing the stay of action on June 5, the group said the agency was required to respond to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in March, by June 16, but an agreement between them and the federal agency extended that deadline to July 12.

Court documents from May 31 obtained by the Daily Pilot indicate that the work has been put on hold “while the Corps considers revisiting its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses and Endangered Species Act (ESA) analyses, including whether consultation under the ESA is appropriate.”

The original lawsuit contended the federal agency was in violation of both acts and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Attorneys for O.C. Coastkeeper stated lower Newport Bay is home to a number of threatened or endangered species and allege that Corps failed to acknowledge possible adverse effects on existing marine life, potential proliferation of the invasive algae Caulerpa prolifera and the potential for sediment suspension.

Moreover, the suit further alleges the Corps failed to prepare an environmental impact statement and authorized the project through a final environmental assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

Dena O’Dell, chief of public affairs for the Los Angeles district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, confirmed the project was on pause in an email Tuesday but said the agency did not comment on pending litigation.

“Our goal is not to stall the channel’s necessary dredging or demand the contaminated material be disposed of outside Newport Bay,” Garry Brown, founder and president of O.C. Coastkeeper, said in a statement on the matter. “However, the project in its current state is not thorough enough to ensure the safety of Newport’s waters, wildlife and human population.

“We hope this extension gives the Corps the time to research and realize the project’s need for additional environmental review.”