News Briefs

WORLD NEWS news briefs

By Katherine M. Clements

LOCAL

Port of San Diego Asks Public to Take Pepper Park Design Survey

SAN DIEGO— On May 24, the Port of San Diego announced it is seeking additional feedback on the latest draft design for the National City Bayfront’s Pepper Park. The public is also asked to help decide which new park amenities, like a splash pad, child play improvements, shade structures, and more, should be added to the park.

Thanks to federal stimulus funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and the State of California’s Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund, the port has designated $3.85 million toward redesigning Pepper Park and constructing some park improvements. An additional $250,000 from Austal USA, a new shipbuilding facility on the National City Bayfront, has increased the current budget to approximately $4.1 million. The park’s existing 5.19-acre footprint will have improvements made to the project’s first phase. Future phases are expected and would include a 2.5-acre expansion of the park.

This survey is the latest of numerous efforts by the port and KTUA to collect public input. KTUA, a landscape architecture firm with extensive urban park and waterfront design expertise, manages design and outreach closely with the port.

The anticipated timeline for Pepper Park is as follows:

ƒFall 2023 – Begin construction of initial priority park improvements within the current park space

ƒMid-2024 – Complete initial priority park improvements within the existing park space

ƒ2025 to 2029 – Funding and a timeline for future enhancements, including park expansion, are to be determined

The plans are subject to environmental review and permitting. Learn more and take the survey at portofsandiego. org/nationalcitybayfront.

South Silver Strand Beach Parking Lot Reopened After Longtime Closure

CHANNEL ISLANDS— A driveway and parking lot providing better access to La Janelle Beach Park and South Silver Strand Beach in Ventura County reopened after closing for nearly five years. The driveway off Ocean Drive to the parking lot was closed to vehicle access in August 2017 after an increased number of off-road vehicles were driving on Silver Strand Beach, threatening the safety of children, families, and other beach users. The solution to restoring access was to install concrete bollards along the driveway and around the parking lot, which would prevent vehicles from entering the beach.

“Visitors and families shouldn’t have to feel threatened or be put in danger by off-road vehicle drivers who are illegally driving on the beach,” said Director Tripp in a press release from June 1. “Reopening the lot with the new bollards prevents vehicles on the beach and increases coastal access.”

In addition to the concrete bollards, the 21-space parking lot has been repaved and striped, and additional garbage cans have been placed for waste.

The driveway gate will be opened in the morning and closed at dusk. Parking overnight will not be permitted.

STATE/NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL

NOAA Requests Proposals for Design and Construction of New Ocean Survey Ships

On May 19, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration announced it is seeking proposals from U.S. shipbuilders to design and construct new ships for coastal, continental shelf, and deep ocean data collection requirements.

The solicitation closes on Aug. 16 and is for a strict, fixed-price contract for two vessels, with options for NOAA to purchase two additional vessels of the same design. The successful bidder will be responsible for designing and building the new ships.

“NOAA ships play a vital role in supporting safe navigation, commerce, marine resource management, and ocean exploration,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad in the May 19 press release.

The new ships must have the capability to carry, deploy, and recover multiple crewed and uncrewed vessels to support nautical charting and seafloor survey missions. They must also accommodate 48 people, consisting of commissioned officers, professional civilian crew members, scientists, and other personnel. In addition, NOAA has set a goal of achieving net-zero emissions for its ship fleet by 2050. Therefore, the new ships must incorporate the latest technologies, including high-efficiency, environmentally friendly EPA Tier IV diesel engines and emissions controls.

NOAA anticipates awarding the contract for this acquisition in 2023 and taking delivery of the first two vessels by 2027. The agency has not yet assigned a homeport for these new ships.

This acquisition represents the second phase of NOAA’s ship fleet recapitalization effort. In Houma, Louisiana, Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors is currently building two new oceanographic ships for NOAA, Oceanographer, and Discoverer. Those vessels are expected to join the NOAA fleet in 2025 and 2026.

NOAA’s fleet of research and survey ships is operated, managed, and maintained by NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. NOAA ships are crewed by NOAA Corps officers and civilian professional mariners. NOAA ships collect data critical for nautical charts, sustainable fishery management, marine mammal protection, storm surge modeling, climate research, and exploration of the nation’s 4.3-million-squaremile Exclusive Economic Zone.

Biden-Harris Administration Proposes First-Ever California Offshore Wind Lease Sale

WASHINGTON — On May 26, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced another step forward in the BidenHarris administration’s pursuit of a clean energy economy. The announcement explained the following steps and welcomed public comment on offshore wind lease sales in two regions on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore California. This is the first-ever offshore wind lease sale proposed on America’s west coast.

In May 2021, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. Colin Kahl, and Governor Gavin Newsom announced an agreement to advance areas for wind energy development offshore the northern and central coasts of California. The proposed sale is part of the leasing path announced last year by Secretary Haaland to meet the BidenHarris administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (G.W.) of offshore wind energy by 2030.

“The demand and momentum around our work to build a clean energy future is undeniable,” said Secretary Deb Haaland in the press release. «The Biden-Harris administration is moving forward at the pace and scale required to help achieve the President›s goals to make offshore wind energy a reality for the United States. Today, we are taking another step toward unlocking the immense potential of offshore wind energy offshore our nation›s west coast to help combat the effects of climate change while creating good-paying jobs.»

The Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) includes three proposed lease areas in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area and two proposed lease areas in northern California’s Humboldt Wind Energy Area. The two lease areas total 373,268 acres that have the potential to unlock over 4.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, power more than 1.5 million homes, and support thousands of new jobs.

“Today’s action represents tangible progress towards achieving the Administration’s vision for a clean energy future offshore California while creating a domestic supply chain and good-paying union jobs,” said Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Amanda Lefton. “BOEM is committed to robust stakeholder engagement and ensuring any offshore wind leasing is done in a manner that avoids or minimizes potential impacts to the ocean and ocean users. The Proposed Sale Notice provides another opportunity for local communities, Tribes, ocean users, developers, and others to weigh in on potential wind energy activities offshore California.”

BOEM has held ten competitive lease sales and has issued 25 active commercial offshore wind leases in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to North Carolina. The California lease sale will be the first in the Pacific region.

The PSN, published in the Federal Register on May 31, 2022, opens a 60-day public comment period and provides detailed information about the proposed lease areas, proposed lease provisions and conditions, and auction details.

BOEM seeks feedback on multiple lease stipulations that will advocate for its commitment to create good-paying union jobs and engage with Tribal governments, underserved communities, ocean users, and other stakeholders. Some of these potential stipulations include:

ƒA 2.5 percent bidding credit to bidders who have executed or committed to completing a community benefits agreement with a community or ocean users (i.e., commercial fisheries) whose use of a lease area or resources harvested from a lease area is directly impacted by the lessee’s potential offshore wind energy development.

ƒA 20 percent bidding credit to bidders who commit to investing in programs that will advance U.S. offshore wind energy workforce training, supply chain development, or both.

ƒA requirement that lessees make every reasonable effort to enter into a project labor agreement covering the construction of any project proposed for the lease area.

ƒLessees need to engage with Tribes, underserved communities, ocean users, and agencies. Lessees will be required to report on their engagement and make reasonable efforts to implement their projects to minimize and mitigate their projects’ adverse effects on these parties.

Comments received by the end of the public comment period will be made available on the BOEM California webpage and considered before deciding whether to publish a final sale notice, which would then announce the time and date of the lease sale, as well as list the companies qualified to participate in it.

Prospective bidders not previously qualified for a California lease sale must submit mandatory qualification materials to BOEM. Qualification materials must be postmarked no later than Aug. 1.