Newport finds more Trader spending cash

Paul Clinton

City leaders have launched plans to deploy another $910,000,

generated by a 1999 oil-spill settlement, to the rehabilitation of

the city’s two piers and improvements at Corona del Mar State Beach.

The money is interest income generated by the city’s $4.79-million

share of the $18.1 million American Trader settlement. The disaster,

considered Orange County’s worst spill, resulted in the soiling of

Huntington Beach’s shoreline in 1990 with 400,000 gallons of oil.

The nearly $1 million the city has earned since 2001, when the

city received its share of the settlement, will be divvied up between

the $2.8-million rehabilitation of the Balboa and Newport piers and

$1.3 million in work to Corona del Mar beaches.

The latter project will benefit most from the extra money,

Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said.

“We do have an extra million,” Kiff said. “The additional interest

money will give us a 100% project [at Corona del Mar], where two

months ago we were looking at getting 85% of what we wanted to get

done.”

Under the terms of the initial settlement, the funding from the

American Trading Transportation Co., also known as Attransco, was

given to Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Orange County and

California State Parks.

The money acted as a form of environmental reparations for the

damage done by the spill. When the American Trader ran aground in

1990, running over its anchor and puncturing its hull, crude oil

closed beaches for weeks, killed at least 1,000 birds and cost

millions of dollars to clean up.

Attransco appealed a jury’s December 1997 award of $18.1 million,

delaying payment until the end of 2000.

The company put the money in a trust fund that is monitored by a

committee that oversees how the money is spent. It must be spent in a

specific zone that was deemed to be impaired by the spill and can

only be spent to “enhance the coast,” said Kevin Thomas, the director

of Orange County’s harbor, beaches and parks division.

“It’s unfortunate the money came from this [oil spill],” Thomas

said. “But it’s good to see there are projects that are going to do

that.”

City officials have spread around their $4.79 million share of the

money to almost a dozen projects. In addition to the pier work and

Corona del Mar improvements, the city has allocated it for new beach

restrooms in Balboa Village, upgrades to the city’s lifeguard

station, electric lighting along the Balboa boardwalk and a new

rescue boat.

“It’s been a great source of revenue to really do recreation

projects,” Asst. City Atty. Robin Clauson said. “Everything that has

been done has been to enhance beach recreation.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.