Los Angeles -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting on a study to develop a long-term plan and determine alternatives to manage sediment dredged during navigation projects in the Los Angeles region. The corps’ Los Angeles District and the study’s sponsors (the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and the City of Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine) will present information and accept comments on management alternatives under consideration. The meeting will take place February 26, 2003, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cesar Chavez Community Center located at 401 Golden Avenue in Long Beach.

The corps estimates that over the next 10 years, about 7.5 million cubic meters of material will need to be dredged from ports and harbors in Los Angeles County. About five million cubic meters of that sediment is suitable for ocean disposal; 2.5 million cubic meters is not. At present, there is a lack of readily available disposal options for the unsuitable sediments. As a result, the corps determined there is a federal interest in developing a Regional Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) to address the issue.
 
Alternatives that may be considered include: no action, upland disposal, aquatic capping, near shore confined disposal facility, shallow water habitat creation, chemical stabilization, washing, blending, physical separation, thermal desorption*, construction fill, landfill daily cover, reclamation fill, oil well injections and geotextile encapsulation.  The corps will evaluate these and any additional reasonable alternatives recommended during the public process to determine the scope of the project.

The corps and the study sponsors will prepare a Joint Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the DMMP Feasibility Study. The report will address potential impacts associated with the proposed sediment management alternatives. The Draft EIS/EIR document will incorporate public concerns in the analysis of impacts associated with the proposed action and associated project alternatives.  When complete, the draft document will be available for a 45-day public review period, during which time the corps will accept written and verbal comments on its adequacy.
The Final EIS/EIR will address the comments received on the draft report during public review and will be furnished to all who submitted comments. The final report will also be available to anyone who requests a copy during the 30-day public comment.

Questions regarding the public meeting may be directed to Greg Fuderer, Public Affairs Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 532711, Los Angeles, CA, 90053-2325, (213) 452-3923.