How to change channel

Coastkeeper hosts public meetings to discuss cleanup of the Rhine Channel, fouled by industrial waste, pesticides.The first of two public meetings will be held tonight to discuss how to clean up pollution in Newport Beach’s Rhine Channel.

The public will be asked to choose among three cleanup proposals ranging in cost from $7 million to $17 million.

As the former home of industrial shipyards and a cannery, the channel was polluted over the years with metals such as copper and mercury, and a recent study also showed pesticide residue and other chemical contamination.

If the pollution isn’t removed, it could affect fish in Newport Bay, said Ray Hiemstra, project manager for Orange County Coastkeeper.

The study, which Coastkeeper headed, suggested three methods of cleaning the Rhine Channel: a $7-million plan to expand bulkheads and put contaminated soil behind them; a $12-million option to dig a hole offshore, put the soil in and cap it; and a $17-million proposal to dig out the polluted sediment and put it in a landfill.

“That’s probably the one that people would be the most happy with, but it’s also the most expensive,” Hiemstra said.

The sediment could be disposed of in Newport or elsewhere.

The public must ultimately decide on the cleanup method, because it will be paid for with public money. Hiemstra said funds will come from a combination of federal, state and local sources, with the city of Newport Beach chipping in the lion’s share.

Tonight’s meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Harbor Patrol meeting room at 1901 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach. The second meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Dec. 14 in the Newport Beach City Council chambers, 3300 Newport Blvd.

For information, call (949)723-5424 or visit

www.coastkeeper.org.