Coalition undecided on American Trader money

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A coalition of government agencies, including

Huntington Beach, failed to reach an agreement Tuesday on how to spend

$11.2 million from a legal settlement stemming from an oil spill in 1990,

city officials said.

The city hopes to recover as much as $4 million for losing

recreational use of the beach as a result of the Feb. 7 incident, in

which the oil tanker American Trader ruptured its hull on its own anchor,

spilling 400,000 gallons of crude off the coast, said Ron Hagan, the

city’s community services director and its liaison to the coalition. At

its worst, the oil contamination closed beaches from Anaheim Bay to

Corona del Mar for five weeks.

Before spending its share of the settlement, the city must receive

unanimous approval on projects from the coalition, which includes Newport

Beach, the county, the state department of parks and recreation, the

department of fish and game, the state land commission and the Coastal

Commission, said Deputy City Administrator Rich Barnard.

“They’re still working out the details,” he said.

The coalition will only consider projects that improve the city beach

and benefit ocean enthusiasts from across the region rather than just the

city, Hagan said. Using the money to build a soccer field in Central

Park, for example, would be unacceptable, he said. The city plans to use

at least part of the money for improvements to the South Beach area that

include new bicycle and pedestrian trails and better landscaping, he

said.

The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for the end of February,

Hagan said. A final decision is expected by May, he said.