Reappointment repairs in emergency sand and coating have been approved to protect the railways from San Clemente, a vital link in the only passenger and freight bond of the County of San Diego to the rest of the United States.
Public transport managers, state regulators and local environmentalists disagree on one of the actions offered, placing more rocks on the beach to create a rocky wall which, according to the Orange County Transportation, is necessary for the long -term safety of trains on the coastal road.
The landslides and the railway bed changing under the tracks just north of the Pendleton camp have stopped the passenger service for months in recent years. OCTA officials said that this week, the area remains unstable and that urgent measures are necessary to prevent new interruptions.
No start date has been set for the work, which will require a suspension of passenger service via San Clemente for up to four weeks, said Octa spokesperson Joel Zlotnik.
“The availability of the workforce and the materials plays at the moment,” Zlotnik said in an email on Thursday. “In addition to the Riprap, there will be 240,000 cubic yards of sand placed in zones 1 and 2 and the moment which also depends on the availability and additional permits, which we work to try to try.”
Octa has requested emergency permits for work in four areas, but so far, California Coastal Commission has only approved the work for zones 1 and 2 on the side of the beach of the slopes north of Mariposa Point. Rock Riprap in these areas will only be replaced in the existing imprint.
The area 3 proposal includes the construction of a new watershed wall and the removal of the remaining parts of the Mariposa pedestrian bridge destroyed by a landslide last year on the land side of the slopes. This work may not be considered an emergency and should rather be part of a regular coastal permit requested earlier which could be on the agenda of approval in May, the coastal commission said.
Zone 4 is further south, at the foot of the Cyprus Shore community near San Clemente State Beach. Octa said that replenishment in sand and a new 1,200 -foot coating is necessary to stop the beach erosion.
The coastal commission, in a letter of April 10 in Octa, said that additional information was necessary to show an emergency in zone 4. Instead, the Commission said that the project should probably go through the longer process of obtaining a regular coastal development permit.
“If the staff agrees to know that an emergency exists at one point in the future, it is essential that we have a clear proposal … and enough information to assess that the proposed emergency action is the minimum necessary to respond to the emergency,” said Karl Schwing, deputy director of the district of the South Coast of the Commission, in the letter.
The rocky coatings are opposed to environmentalists and the San Clemente Group save our beaches because the structures occupy a recreational space and accelerate the erosion of the beaches.
“We support the rehabilitation of any deteriorated rock covering, if – and we cannot emphasize enough – there is no increase in the imprint of the rocks placed on the beach (including the buried rock),” said an email from Save Our Beaches. “We vigorously oppose any expansion of existing rock coverings.”
“The rocks break the beaches!” The email indicates, adding that replenishment in sand and retention should be priorities to stabilize the beach.
OCTA’s response to concerns has been that additional Rock Roprap will only be used “where it is absolutely necessary and designed to be functional, limited in the scope and potentially temporary”.
“By progressing this emergency work, we help to preserve a critical transport link for southern California, the region and beyond,” said OCTA president, Doug Chaffee, also a supervisor of the fourth district of Orange County, in a press release this week.
For years, the coastal commission generally opposed Rock Riprap, coatings and other hard structures, such as dikes, on the beach. It generally allows ancients to be repaired or replaced if necessary, and in certain cases helps protect the endangered structures, such as the railway, to advance erosion.
When hard structures are approved, the Commission can attach a condition requiring their possible dismissal. An example is the dikes built under the LED Mar railways which must be deleted after the end of another inner route.
In addition, when permits are issued, the Commission often includes an attenuation requirement, such as improving public access to the beach or improving indigenous housing.
In recent years, when the advancement of erosion threatens more coastal structures such as houses, parks, highways and the global tourism economy, the Commission has been more receptive to innovative ideas which could include the creative use of hardened coastal structures such as artificial and manifesto reefs.
More than $ 313 million in state and federal subsidies have been obtained for the work of San Clemente. Of the additional 135 million dollars included in the OCTA 2024-25 fiscal year will allow the completion of projects, said Zlotnik.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
