The Board of Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday to move about 760,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a Marina del Rey dredge site to a slip being filled in the Port of Long Beach.
The agreement between the port, Marina del Rey and several other cities and agencies involves reusing a total of some 1 million cubic yards of sediment from Ballona Creek and neighboring beaches that have accumulated in Marina del Rey's harbor during the past 12 years.
While most of the sediment will be used at the port, almost 250,000 cubic yards of clean, dredged sand will be placed at Redondo Beach and Rockweiler State Beach, where erosion has shortened beach width.
The contaminated dirt will be transported by barge to the port's Middle Harbor area, which is undergoing a $650 million redevelopment.
It's the second time in a year that Long Beach has accepted contaminated sludge for the Middle Harbor project, where port authorities are filling about 60 acres of slip to join two aging marine terminals at Piers E and F.
Long Beach previously accepted roughly 150,000 cubic yards of sediment from Newport Beach for similar purposes. The port encapsulated the landfill in a measure deemed environmentally safe by state and federal agencies as well as nonprofit organizations such as Heal the Bay.
"This partnership was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the timing is perfect - Marina del Rey needs to get rid of sediment and Long Beach needs sediment," said County Supervisor Don Knabe, whose district includes Long Beach. "Besides being a win for both of these communities, we are saving millions of dollars through an environmentally sound solution."
The contaminated sludge typically contains heavy metals, pesticides and other chemicals that pose an ecological risk if left exposed.
Authorities expect the most recent plan to save upwards of $85 million and eliminate 42,000 truck trips that would have been required to move the dirt to inland dump sites.
Long Beach and the neighboring Port of Los Angeles are accepting mountains of toxic sediment as landfill for more than $7 billion in terminal and railyard expansion projects in and around San Pedro Bay during the next decade.
Dredged muck will be encapsulated inside massive concrete-lined pits, known as "confined disposal facilities," which are then covered with a clean layer of earth and sand and monitored for years to ensure no leakage occurs.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is managing the dredging and transfer, plans to deepen Marina del Rey's north and south entrances by late 2012.
Under federal law, the dirty material can't be dumped at sea or on a beach - only at an approved offshore or inland facility.
County, state and federal funds, along with money from the Port of Long Beach, are paying for the project.