State OKs Port of L.A. Plan for Expansion, Phase by Phase : Commerce: Harbor Department and Corps of Engineers have promised to restore as many acres of wetlands as they dredge. Federal approval and funding of the project have yet to be attained.

The California Coastal Commission has unanimously approved a controversial plan to expand the Port of Los Angeles by 580 acres in what will be the state’s largest coastal development project in two decades.

The unanimous decision, which came Wednesday night, eliminates a major hurdle in plans by the Harbor Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the harbor’s shipping channels and expand Terminal Island to take on new cargo terminals.

The Coastal Commission’s approval does not authorize the port to immediately begin dredging the harbor. However, the commission did say that dredging and navigational improvements are consistent with the California Coastal Act.

Officials must appear again before the commission to gain approval for dredging, and that is expected to happen in February. The Coastal Commission signaled that it will approve the dredging by unanimously endorsing the expansion.

“I was just absolutely delighted with the decision,” said Dwayne Lee, deputy executive director for port development. “With the staff recommendation supporting the project, I was reasonably confident that the commission would approve it, but I was pleasantly surprised with the unanimous vote.”

The Harbor Department must now seek final federal approval for the project and then ask Congress for $100 million--the federal share of the $580-million plan. The balance will be paid with port funds.

The turning point in gaining the Coastal Commission’s endorsement came in the past few weeks when the port agreed to seek approval for the project in phases, rather than asking the commission to rubber-stamp an ambitious 20-year expansion plan all at once.

“One of our major, major concerns was having a 20-year development plan that would have major impacts, without having review in succeeding years,” said Larry Simon, ports coordinator with the Coastal Commission.

Simon said the port and the corps will return to the commission three or four more times over the next decade as the project progresses.

Another factor that led to the commission’s support was the Harbor Department’s agreement to restore as many acres of wetlands as it dredges. Previously, the corps and the port proposed building artificial reefs or putting money into an escrow fund rather than replacing wetlands.

The department has agreed to restore wetlands at Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad in San Diego County, in return for dredging and filling 388 acres in the outer harbor, Simon said.

To complete its expansion, the port still has to find 200 more acres of wetlands to restore. It is considering a site in the Ballona Lagoon in the Santa Monica Bay, Simon said.