Bringing out the dredge

Local officials are planning an October ceremony to commemorate the

start of Back Bay dredging, though there’s no concrete evidence that

work will begin then.

The event is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 11, and Newport Beach

officials plan to join Orange County and California Coastal

Conservancy officials for the occasion, Assistant City Manager Dave

Kiff said.

The date was chosen because Sen. Dianne Feinstein was expected to

be available, not because dredging was expected to begin that day,

Kiff said. Feinstein got $7 million for the project written into a

Senate appropriations bill.

Former Rep. Chris Cox got a $2-million dredging provision written

into the House version of the bill, and federal and local officials

are still waiting for Congress to iron out how much money will be

allocated to dredge the Back Bay.

Kiff expressed optimism Wednesday that dredging could begin this

fall, but he acknowledged the possibility that the planned ceremony

would not coincide with the start of actual work.

“We may have a ceremony even if there’s no contract,” Kiff said.

In August, Orange County supervisors approved a funding plan that

called for the federal government to pay for more than two-thirds of

the dredging project. Under the plan, more than $39 million would be

spent during three years of dredging. The Army Corps of Engineers

would be the lead federal agency and hire a contractor to do the

actual dredging work.

Even if federal money is not forthcoming, enough funds are on hand

to begin the project this year, said Larry McKenney, manager of the

Orange County Watershed and Coastal Resources Division. McKenney said

the project could begin with money from the California Coastal

Conservancy and $1 million in federal dollars that have already been

allocated for the bay.

“If the corps will execute a contract, we’re not beholden on them

[the federal money] to start work,” McKenney said.

When supervisors passed the funding plan for the dredging project

in August, McKenney said he hoped the corps could have a contract

ready by the end of this month.

Army Corps of Engineers project manager Ken Morris said the corps

has not yet inked a deal for the project, noting the corps’ resources

have been stretched thin by the ongoing war and hurricanes Katrina

and Rita.

The corps has not yet considered whether the project could start

with just Coastal Conservancy money, Morris said.