_{Thumbnail photo: Conditions on a seawall that’s been slated for replacement have worsened as the Crescent City Harbor District seeks final in-water construction permits needed to start project. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

The Crescent City Harbor District’s efforts to reconstruct Citizens Dock and replace a failing seawall have run into a permitting delay that may limit the amount of in-water construction that can be completed this year.

The CCHD Board of Commissioners received this piece of news with frustration on Wednesday with Gerhard Weber pointing out that state and federal agencies have known for the last two years that the project would require in-water work permits.

Harbormaster Mike Rademaker noted that the environmental review phase had already been delayed due to changes to California’s seismic safety standards. This new obstacle comes as the already-condemned seawall’s conditions have worsened.

“It’s been changing really dramatically even in just the past few months,” he said. “There are sinkholes that are developing — everything is underground — and we’ve been pointing that out to regulatory agencies (saying) this is a unique situation. And they’ve asked us to take photographs on a regular basis.”

The worsening conditions are due to winter storms as well as the July 30, 2025 Kamchatka tsunami, Rademaker told commissioners.

To start construction on the new seawall and Pier 1 of Citizens Dock, CCHD needed an in-water work construction permit from the California Coastal Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of engineers, and the state Regional Water Quality Control Board. The permit review process for each agency, including public notices and meetings, will take about 180 days, Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr said. Since the Harbor District can only do in-water construction between July and October, that work may need to wait until the following year, Bahr said.

The state and federal agencies aren’t willing to issue emergency in-water construction permits, Bahr said, so he and Moffatt & Nichol, the architectural team working with CCHD on the project’s design, have asked candidates for a project manager position to come up with tasks that can be completed on land.

One of those tasks involves using a crane, Bahr said.

“We could probably save time and money by using a crane and replacing some of that in-water work by doing it from land,” he said.

The 17 on-land construction activities that could be completed this year also include conducting geotechnical and lidar surveys to determine whether the parking lot adjacent to the seawall can support heavy equipment, Bahr said.

The electrical boxes and refrigerated containers supporting the commercial fishing fleet will also need to be moved before a crane platform can be constructed, according to CCHD Board President Rick Shepherd. He said he hoped that work would be completed before the Dungeness crab season starts this year.

However, Bahr said, this hinges on bringing on a professional project manager with years of experience. Two candidates for the job toured the project site on April 28. Both indicated that using a crane to do some of the in-water work from land instead could probably save time and money, he said. 

The Harbor District’s RFP process for the project manager position came to a close on Thursday. The Board of Commissioners will review their proposal and take potential action on May 27.

Moffatt & Nichol will also present a full final construction design contract to the Board of Commissioners on May 27.

“The project manager comes first,” Bahr said in response to a question from CCHD Fiscal Officer Sandy Moreno. “They put together the scope of work and the qualifications for the contractor and then we would have a bid for the contractor for the project itself.”

Moreno noted there are four requests for proposals associated with the seawall replacement and Citizens Dock reconstruction project. In addition to the project manager and general contracting positions, the Harbor District is seeking proposals for an accountant and a grant manager.

Bahr said he would not be involved with selecting a grant manager for the project.

The Crescent City Harbor District is using a total of $15 million in 2022 and 2024 U.S. Maritime Administration Port Infrastructure Development Program grant dollars for the first phase of a two-part project.

The Harbor District is also seeking an additional $11.25 million in 2026 in PIDP grant funds to finish the second of Citizens Dock’s two piers. 

On Wednesday, Shepherd said he’s taken pictures of the sinkholes plaguing the failing seawall. The Coastal Development Permit has set the Harbor District back a month, he said, due to their requirement that CCHD survey the seawall to see how quickly it’s failing.

“They’re concerned that it’s an environmental problem, and I’m going, ‘Well that’s why we’re replacing the seawall,’” Shepherd said. “So we should get going on it.”