Newport Beach : Bill in Congress Seeks Dredging of Upper Bay
Rep. Robert Badham (R-Newport Beach) has introduced a bill that would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge Upper Newport Bay, the site of an increasing buildup of silt.
The buildup in the Upper Newport Bay has caused considerable problems for Lower Newport Bay, but so far, Army engineers have been dredging only the lower portion.
The bill authorizes $2.5 million to fund the work, which could begin by the end of the year.
The bill would allow the Army Corps of Engineers “to go to the source of the problem and treat it there rather than deal with the problem in Lower Newport Bay,” said Argyle Nelson, executive assistant to Badham.
When the Army was given the responsibility of dredging Newport Bay in the 1930s, its jurisdiction ended at the Pacific Coast Highway Bridge, Nelson said. The bill also pushes the jurisdiction limits beyond the bridge to a nearby state ecological preserve.
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