SEAL BEACH : Sand Transfer Set to Be Made in June

City officials said last week that a sand replenishment project on a beach south of the Seal Beach Pier is likely to begin in June, about a month later than originally scheduled.

Officials blamed the delay in part on numerous approvals the project must receive from various state and federal agencies.

Last month, the California Coastal Commission and several other state agencies approved the plan to dump more than 100,000 cubic yards of sand from a Santa Ana River flood control project onto Seal Beach’s eroded coastline.

But the project still requires the OK of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The city also needs to work with Caltrans to devise the route that trucks will follow when delivering sand from the river to Seal Beach, said City Manager Jerry L. Bankston.

The city originally expected to used about 150,000 cubic yards of sand. Now officials expect that only 120,000 cubic yards will be needed.

Bankston said the contractor should be ready to begin moving the sand by June. If the Corps of Engineers still hasn’t approved the project by then, the city might have some of the sand brought to the beach and stored in mounds. The sand would then be spread onto the beach when the Corps grants approval, he said.

The project will cost the city about $500,000. It is aimed at replenishing a beach that has been slowly eroding for decades.