1.0 Introduction
The proposed Regional Beach Sand Project proposes placement of less total material (2 million vs. 5.5
million cy) over generally the same receiver sites as the Navy's permitted project. The proposed project
does differ, however, because the sand source has changed from dredged material in San Diego Bay to
dredged material from six offshore borrow sites, and additional receiver site locations have been added.
Table 1-1 provides a comparison between the Homeporting project which was permitted and partially
implemented, and the alternative under the Regional Beach Sand Project with the maximum number of
receiver sites. Existing data from the Navy's prior analyses are used, where applicable, throughout this
EIR/EA and the monitoring program established by the Navy project permits is used as a framework for
designing the monitoring program for this project.
1.2
PURPOSE AND NEED
The purpose of the proposed beach replenishment project is to replenish beaches in accordance with the
Shoreline Preservation Strategy. This document identified regional coastal areas with critical shoreline
problems. SANDAG's Shoreline Erosion Committee (SEC) has used this as a basis for identifying up to
13 receiver sites which have experienced erosion and need replenishment. The proposed action would
provide immediate benefit by placing suitable beach fill directly onto the region's beaches rather than
placing some of it in the nearshore zone. The proposed action would serve four main functions: 1) to
replenish the three littoral cells and receiver sites with suitable beach sand; 2) to provide enhanced
recreational opportunities and access at the receiver sites; 3) to enhance the tourism potential of the San
Diego region; and 4) to increase protection of public property and infrastructure.
As the project has evolved, it has become apparent that predicting sand movement in the highly dynamic
ocean system is difficult. Another project feature is to establish replenishment sites which can be useful in
evaluating the predictions of the state-of-the-art modeling used in this process and thereby assist with any
future beach replenishment efforts in the region.
PROPOSED ACTION
1.3
The proposed action is beach replenishment of the San Diego region's eroding beaches using
approximately 2 million cy of dredged sediment from offshore borrow sites located outside of the depth
of closure (i.e., outside of the respective littoral cells). Based on the recommendation of the SEC, one
replenishment action would involve up to 12 receiver sites using dredged sediment from six borrow sites.
This is the SEC's preferred alternative. This document also evaluates, at an equal level of detail, one
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Regional Beach Sand Project EIR/EA
99-69\SANDAG EIREA 3.4.wpd 7/17/00
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