Proposal for Economic Analysis of Sediment Management in California
Philip King, PhD
San Francisco State University
Background
The State of California has recently received funding to creat a Master Plan for managing coastal sediment. One purpose of the plan is to help coordinate previously disparate policies and programs (at the local, State, and Federal levels) dealing with the management of sediment in route to or already residing at the coast. The focus of this study is Regional Sediment Management. The US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and other government agencies are attempting to coordinate their dredging, nourishment, flood control and habitat restoration projects in a cost-effective way. In particular, there is a significant amount of “opportunistic sedimentt” in California—sediment that is dredged or needs to be removed from a particular location that could be transported to coastal sites within the State that are starved in need of sediment, especially eroded beaches in Southern and Central California.
While the COE Corps is also conducting regional sediment plans, their analysis is restricted to Corps projects, and the benefits they derive from the use of opportunistic sand may only be calculated if and when there is a Federal interest. There are a number of other state and local projects (e.g., emptying of debris basins, wetlands restorations and construction activities), which generate opportunistic sediment but will not be included in any study by the COE. This study will examine the interest of the State of California, as well as local governments. The analysis will also include benefits that are derived from the use of opportunistic sediment from COE Corps projects on California beaches.
We will are currently conducting an economic study of sediment management in California, focusing on a few areas where information about opportunistic sediment and the benefits from its use are well known. In particular, we are examining regional sediment management issues in Ventura and southern Santa Barbara Counties and related watersheds, flood control projects, harbors, and beaches. Our study will examine the following sources of sediment:
a) Material from the Corps’ dredging activities in Ventura, Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands.
b) Material from dams and debris basins in the area.
c) The potential for material from other flood control projects such as the Goleta slough.
d) The potential for material from the creation of wetlands in Carpinteria.
For the potential benefits of the project, we will examine the economic benefits of adding sand to three specific beaches in the area:
a) Carpinteria’s City and State beaches.
b) “Oil Pier’s” beach just north of Ventura.
c) Goleta beach.
d) These case studies will be chosen based on several criteria: (a) available information; (b) comprehensiveness of issues (i.e., we’d like to examine all types of opportunistic sediment projects); (c) geographic proximity—ideally we would like to deal with one or two watersheds or coastal reaches, but this may be in conflict with (a) and (b).
The purpose of the project is twofold: (1) to provide a thorough economic analysis of these specific sites indicating whether transporting sediment is cost-effective; (2) to provide a model for future such studies and to assist the State learn how sediment management practices can be applied. The study will encompass at least the following issues:
a) dredge material from ports and or harbor dredging;
b) material from existing or proposed wetlands restoration;
c) material from flood control projects such as debris basins and dams;
d) material from near-coastal construction sites;
e) potential nourishment projects to sand deficient beaches.
Philip Williams and Associates will be a subcontractor on this project, providing expertise on the geology/hydrology/engineering aspects of the project. Cope Willis, who has worked with sediment management issues before, will provide much of this expertise.
The study will:
· Quantify the net costs of sorting, transporting and distributing opportunistic sediment from their sites to the three beaches above—net costs are defined as additional costs of transport beyond the receiver site currently used;
· Quantify the net benefits of this sediment transport and beach nourishment at the local, State and National levels;
· Recommend specific sites where opportunistic sediment can be used for beach nourishment in a cost effective way;
· Discuss other areas in the State that would potentially benefit from opportunistic nourishment and how the results of this study could be generalized/transferred to these sites.
Tasks:
1. Identify Case Studies
We will draw on previous studies such as the California Beach Restoration Study, which created a GIS database of opportunistic sediment in dams and debris basins. We will also use existing COE studies, telephone interviews, and all other available sources. Our focus will be on the following:
a. available sediment dredged from ports and harbors;
b. available sediment from wetlands restoration projects (both planned and potential);
c. available sediment from dams, debris basins, and flood control infrastructure, including available sediment from routine maintenance;
d. available sediment from near-coastal construction sites;
e. available sediment from other inland sources such as commercial operations (e.g., sand mining) on government land.
The purpose of the Case Studies is to present a thorough analysis of the feasibility of sediment management. Unfortunately, limiting ourselves exclusively to one watershed or littoral cell would likely eliminate sources of opportunistic sediment that may lie outside the area. Thus, we will include all sources of opportunistic sediment that can potentially be transported in a cost-effective manner to a sediment-starved beach within the Case Study area.
At this time we anticipate that at least one case study will involve north San Diego County or Orange County since we have a great deal of information on recreational benefits, dredge material, etc., from these areas. We also anticipate examining opportunistic sediment from wetlands restoration in Ventura or Santa Barbara Counties.
2. Examine availability of opportunistic sediment.
Once the case studies have been identified, we will conduct a thorough analysis of the availability and types of sediment, and current responsibilities for dredging. This analysis will include the following:
· Types of sediment available and feasibility of using sediment for beach nourishment;
· Current dredging operations as well as who is responsible for these operations;
· Costs of current disposal that would be saved by opportunistic nourishment;
· If dredging is not occurring, the net benefits to Federal, State and local economies from dredging, including environmental benefits;
· Other relevant issues (e.g., toxicity of sediment, policy constraints, etc.).
3. Quantify the net cost of sediment transport and nourishment
We will create a cost function for the removal, sorting (i.e., separating usable sand from sediment which cannot be used), transportation and distribution of sediment based on interviews with engineers, government officials, experts and companies providing these services. The cost function will allow us to quantify the costs of opportunistic nourishment of beaches and will include the following as parameters:
a. the volume/weight of sediment to be removed/transported;
b. the type of dredging;
c. the proportion of sediment that is suitable for beach nourishment;
d. the distance (by suitable road, rail, pipeline, or barge) between the source and final destination of the sediment;
e. the type of nourishment proposed (which may vary by beach).
Once a cost function has been created, we will subtract disposal costs for current projects (e.g., harbor dredging) or, alternatively attempt to quantify the benefits of sediment removal (e.g., in creating habitat for wetlands) in order to estimate the net costs of sediment transportation.
4. Quantify the economic benefit from nourishment
We will make reasonable estimates of the economic benefits of tourism, in terms of economic and fiscal impact as well as increases in consumer surplus created by increasing the width of a beach. We will draw on a number of studies, in particular Dr. King’s work for the State of California over the past several years. Benefits estimate may include the expected life expectancy of a beach nourishment project as well as benefits from sand drifting to neighboring beaches.
5. Recommend specific sites for opportunistic sediment transport
The study will identify and recommend specific sites in the Study areas where opportunistic sediment transport is cost effective and will estimate the ratio of benefits/net costs from this type of sediment management policy.
6. Write up Report
A final report will be written and submitted to the State Resources agency. The report will include an overview of the economic principles involve in coastal resource management. A PDF copy will also be submitted along with all data and GIS files.
Deliverables:
1. Designation of case studies. Deliverable Due: March 2003.
2. Cost Function for Sediment Removal/Transport. Deliverable Due: June 2003.
3. Case Studies: We will write up our Case Studies and submit them, along with accompanying materials (cost functions, GIS files, etc.). Final Report
We will submit a first draft of the final report as an MS Word Document.
Deliverable Due: December 2003.
Budget:
The total cost for the Project is $82,115.75 as outlined below.
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