Tests to Determine Sediment Toxicity in Marina Channel

A new round of biological tests on the toxicity of sediment in the Marina del Rey entrance channel will be completed next month, an Army Corps of Engineers planner said Wednesday.

The results will determine whether the sandy material, contaminated with high levels of toxic metals, can be dredged from the channel and deposited at an underwater dump site off the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

“Right now we feel some of the material may not be suitable for ocean disposal,” said John Burge, an environmental planner for the Corps.

He told Los Angeles County’s Small Craft Harbor Commission meeting in the marina that the most expensive scenario would require 500,000 cubic yards of sediment to be dredged, dried out and trucked to a toxic-waste site.

Alternatives include an experimental process that would treat the sediment with bacteria to reduce its toxicity, before burying it offshore beneath a layer of cleaner material, Burge said.

He said the Corps is awaiting test results that indicate how the sediment’s toxicity would affect marine life if it is dumped offshore.

In the meantime, county officials reported that shoaling is worsening at the mouth of the channel. An estimated 25% to 30% of the marina’s south entrance has been closed to boaters as a precaution.