Recent news that the Army Corps of Engineers will conduct a federal study of the Long Beach breakwater has breathed new life into locals who believe the structure should be altered – or removed completely, some say – but there are plenty of hurdles and hoops standing in the way before we see any actual change. For one, the $100,000 funding that is necessary for the study has not yet passed through Washington. The Press-Telegram‘s Paul Eakins explains it thusly:

The $100,000 funding still must be approved by the full House Appropriations Committee, as well as by a counterpart committee in the Senate, and then approved by both bodies of Congress.

For the sake of speculation, though, let’s assume the funding passes. The Army Corps would then be able to proceed with their study. Now, if you’ve been following the plight of the breakwater in recent years, you know not to get too excited about a study. The Long Beach City Council last year spent $100,000 to commission a similar study from local engineering firm Moffatt & Nichol, which is expected to be presented sometime next month. That study took more than nine months and included public information meetings (the first of which we covered in this article), and could be used in partnership with a possible upcoming federal study.

But what exactly are they studying? Just as the Corps had to be convinced that the issue is worth examining, they also must be convinced that the issue is worth taking action. Not a single rock will be removed from that breakwater unless the Corps deems it necessary. And that will be the tough part.

All kinds of ideas have been flown around when it comes to altering the breakwater, the most famous of which may be the study independently conducted by retired engineer Bud Johnson, which proposes that an 1800-foot gap be created in the structure in order to create ocean flow and current. Click here for our February article about Johnson’s study. The purpose of that action is primarily to clean the water by allowing the trash and debris accumulated along Long Beach’s shore to flow out to sea through the opening. But that benefit alone will not convince the Corps.

The Army Corps of Engineers originally built and now owns the breakwater, so they don’t have to change it if they don’t want to – no matter what any other report suggests. They’ll need proof that there are potential economic benefits, that there will be no environmental harm caused, and that there is no possibility of future property damage. Arguments can certainly be made for all three, but the toughest hurdle will be convincing the Corps that there is no danger of harm to any of the THUMS oil islands, shoreline homes and buildings, or docked shipping tankers waiting to enter the Port of Long Beach. If any of those fears cannot be eased by a study, the whole deal is off.

Assuming the Corps does approve of altering the breakwater, though, the City of Long Beach will need to come up with half of the construction costs – a pricetag that has ranged in estimates between $10-$20 million.

A press release from Congresswoman Laura Richardson’s office on Friday said, “The wait is over,”
referring to Long Beach’s struggles with the breakwater. For supporters of making changes to the breakwater, the announcement that funding for a federal study moving through Washington is surely progress. More accurately, though, the wait is just beginning.