To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Julie Lucido, Public Works Director
Prepared By: Julie Lucido, Public Works Director
TITLE:
Title
Napa River Dredging Federal Project
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Receive report on Napa River Dredging Federal Project and proposed use of City’s South Jefferson Street property for material disposition that is consistent with the future development as a City park; and provide direction to staff.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Background
The Napa River is designated as a federal navigation channel from San Pablo Bay to the Third Street Bridge. The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has the responsibility for the dredging of the federal channel with the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (Flood District) acting as the local sponsor to coordinate the work and provide a location for the dredge material. The dredging work is dependent on the federal budgeting process, and federal funding in the amount of 4.75M has been authorized for the Napa River as part of the current budget for work to begin this August.
The operations and maintenance schedule provides for a six-year cycle of maintenance dredging for the channel to a depth of 15 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) from the Mare Island Strait Causeway to Asylum Slough and 10 feet MLLW to the head of navigation at the Third Street Bridge in the City of Napa. The channel was last dredged in 2016 when approximately 70,000 cubic yards of material was removed during the operation. During the first winter after the dredging, severe rainstorms resulted in large accumulations of sediment within the channel, particularly in the areas near the upper end of the reach within the city limits.
A healthy and active river has been a high priority for our community for more than 20 years. Major investments have been made along the Napa River for the Flood Control Project, biking and pedestrian trails, habitat restoration, new bridges, the downtown boat dock, and complimentary adjacent development. Dredging is an essential component to maintain an active river that includes boating activities within the city limits and allows for access to the Main Street Boat Dock. While the last dredging episode was in 2016, the previous dredging cycle had not occurred for almost 20 years due to insufficient federal funding.
Dredge Material Disposition
As the local sponsor, the Flood District is required to provide a suitable location for the placement of the dredged material. The Flood District has a long-term lease for property located near the confluence of Tulocay Creek and the Napa River. This site had been occupied by homeless camps and is referred to locally as “the bowl.” This site was used in 2016 and was originally planned for use for the upcoming dredging work. The planned dredging operations have been modified for the upcoming work by the Corps because this year’s dredging will require the use of a clam shell bucket method with trucking necessary from the barge to the material placement location. The clamshell approach is required because of the larger grain size of the dredge material and regulatory permit requirements. The Flood District’s site near Tulocay Creek was designed for hydraulic dredging methods where the material is pumped to the placement site through a pipeline. This Flood District’s site is inaccessible for a clamshell to offload to shore, and therefore not practical for the planned work.
The Flood District has evaluated several potential sites and identified the 54-acre City-owned property located at the south end of South Jefferson Street as the only feasible site in the nearby area. While this City property is identified in the City’s 2010 Park & Facilities Master Plan as the site of an undeveloped future park, as summarized below, this site was acquired by the City for an intended purpose of deposit of dredged soil for the Flood Control Project prior to the development of a park. Therefore, the Flood District has approached the City to request use of the City’s South Jefferson Street property for the placement of the material. The placement of the additional fill material would support the future development of the property as a park.
The 54-acre future South Jefferson Park parcel is a part of an 111-acre parcel at the end of South Jefferson Street that was purchased by the City in 2000 through a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding grant. The property was purchased in conjunction with the Flood District to support the Flood Project and was subsequently transferred by the City to the Flood District in that same year, 2000. In 2007, Fifty-four (54) acres in the northwest corner of the property (near State Route 29 and the Meadows of Napa Valley retirement community) was transferred back to the City from the Flood District. The 54-acre site was designated as a soil disposal site for the Flood Project and was permitted to accept 450,000 cubic yards of soil from Flood Project construction. To date, less than 300,000 cubic yards of material have been placed at the site. As noted above, while the property is designated as a future City park, at this time the park project development is unfunded.
The District Manager for the Flood District, Rick Thomasser, will present information regarding the dredging project and the request for use of the City property. The next steps would be completing an agreement between the City and Flood District for the use of the South Jefferson property to accept dredged material from the Napa River and the Flood District obtaining all approvals necessary for the material placement on the property. The approvals will need to include environmental clearance, any regulatory permitting, and acknowledgement from FEMA that the activity is consistent with the original grant funding used for purchasing the property.
The proposed soil placement is consistent with the previously authorized grading plan developed for the Flood Project and supports the development of the property as a future park. The operations will require the material to be off loaded from a barge onto trucks for transport. The Corps has identified the Flood District’s property located at the northeast corner of Imola Avenue and Coombs Street as the most practical site for offloading the dredge material from barges. This will require trucking over city streets as part of the operations. The Flood District is planning to hold community meetings and contact key stakeholders to explain the project activities and to receive feedback as part of their project development preparations. If City Council expresses support, an agreement with detailed terms will be negotiated with the Flood District and will be presented at a future meeting for consideration.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
This report is for informational purposes only; there are no financial impacts or appropriations necessary.
CEQA:
The Public Works Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
None.
NOTIFICATION:
None.