EVEREST June, 2013 - California Department of Boating and ...

Orange County Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan
5. CONCLUSIONS
While some beaches in Orange County are wide and healthy, such as those within the
Huntington Beach Littoral Cell, there are many that have chronic erosion problems, such as
East Beach, Seal Beach and beaches southeast of Dana Point (e.g., Capistrano County Beach
and San Clemente City Beach). Even the wide and healthy beaches from Sunset Beach to
West Newport Beach are dependent on ongoing nourishment activities that may come under
threat if not maintained. The Plan outlined in the current report addresses beach maintenance
and other coastal needs through a multi-pronged approach ranging from small individual
construction projects all the way up to changing state and federal regulations. Also, the
activities within the Plan range geographically from the upland streams and rivers of Los
Angeles and Riverside County, down to the beaches, and into the nearshore areas of Orange
County.
Some of the recommended Plan activities can be carried out through existing institutions and do
not necessarily require development of a dedicated JPA. Examples are the ongoing Surfside-
Sunset Beach nourishment project and the proposed San Clemente Shoreline Project which are
USACE projects. Other Plan recommendations such as development of a SCOUP for Newport
Harbor may be carried out by local agencies such as the City of Newport Beach Harbor
Resources Division. Beyond these small or ongoing projects, an organized effort would be
required to fully implement the Plan.
The first steps associated with fully implementing the Plan are public outreach and education.
This would be directed towards professionals and decision makers informing them what the
Plan is and how it is to be carried out. From there, local jurisdictions should begin collaborative
discussions to consider whether a JPA could be modified or formed. This JPA would have the
task of implementing and updating the Plan over the next 50 years. The JPA would have the
challenging tasks of introducing and explaining the Plan to the public and to decision makers,
raising funds to implement the Plan during tough economic times, and then steering the Plan
through the regulatory process. Given these difficulties, it is hard to imagine a group or agency
taking on these efforts on a part time basis, thus the JPA would likely require full time staff and a
dedicated board of directors.
While no one is certain of the future, it may be possible that many of the recommended Plan
activities will be carried out through various piecemeal agencies and agendas. On the other
hand, a dedicated agency would have a greater ability to press these Plan activities through the
various obstacles. Likewise, it may be possible that the lower of the sea level rise scenarios will
occur and upland sand bypassing will become the norm, so beaches could be maintained or
widened without much organized effort. This scenario would be driven by good luck more than
good governance. Good governance however requires diligent thoughtful planning. The Plan
provided herein describes and recommends a range of activities that should be carried out to
implement coastal RSM in Orange County.
Everest International Consultants, Inc. 5.1