Redondo Beach is planning to bring back its over-the-water Independence Day fireworks celebration this year, after scrambling to put on a drone show in 2023 amid tighter water quality regulations.
The City Council this week approved a contract with New Jersey company Garden State Fireworks to put on the pyrotechnic show, signaling the return of the July 4 tradition at Redondo’s King Harbor.
The agreement also includes work for a subcontractor, Pacific Maritime Group, to operate the barge from which the fireworks will be launched.
In May, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board implemented a safety permit for fireworks either launched from barges on the water or where the safety zone extended over the water.
The new permitting process put various restrictions on over-the-water fireworks, such as requiring the launch area to be enclosed with three walls and underwater surveys to be performed.
The regulations also prohibit discharging plastic trash associated with firework displays into surface waters, and requires a plan for best management practices to ensure the fireworks don’t pollute the water or cause nuisance conditions in surface waters.
Given the relatively short window to comply with the new regulations, Redondo Beach opted to instead host its first — and perhaps last — drone show for last year’s celebration.
But for this year, the city will apply for its permit “as soon as possible,” Cameron Harding, Redondo’s community services director, said in a Wednesday, April 10, email. The plan is to launch the blasts at the harbor with the help of Pi Environmental, a consultant many other cities have worked with in the past year to ensure they can continue their fireworks shows.
Harding said he’s confident Pi will help Redondo get the permit in time.
It’ll cost the city $115,000 for the show, the barge, engineering and permitting, which, City Manager Mike Witzansky said, is about double the price from just a few years ago.
Some councilmembers were initially hesitant to approve the expenditure during this week’s meeting because of a few concerns with the operator.
Garden State Fireworks was previously not registered with the California Secretary of State’s office as required, Councilmember Todd Loewenstein said during the Tuesday, April 9, meeting.
But the company registered with the Secretary of State’s office in March, Garden State Vice President August Santore, said on Wednesday. Garden State Fireworks submitted its initial filing on March 19, according to records on the California Secretary of State’s office website. It must submit its statement of information — which provides more specific details about the company — by June 17.
Santore, for his part, also seemed unbothered by the new water-quality regulations. While he’s aware of them, Santore also said Garden State had been doing shows over the water before the permit mandate came down.
Post-event water tests, he said, show “we don’t contaminate anything.”
Garden State Fireworks is a family business that dates back to the late 19th century, when founder Augustine Santore immigrated to New Jersey from Italy, according to the company’s website. He died in 1973 and his two sons took over the business.
The company makes fireworks for multiple organization, a January 2021 press release said, including the U.S. military, which uses them as battlefield special effects during training exercises — and for Disney theme parks.
But Garden State also produces fireworks shows. It even helped produce the fireworks show for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, the 2021 press release said.
As for the Redondo show, Garden State has asked the city to assume liability for the barge operator, leaving Redondo Beach without a clear way to get its money back if Pacific Maritime doesn’t fulfill its services, staffers said. Garden State does not provide insurance for specific events until contracts are signed.
Still, the show will most likely likely go on.
The contract was scheduled to be signed on Wednesday, Harding said. Garden State officials would then send the insurance policy to Redondo once they received the signed agreement.
In South Redondo, meanwhile, the Riviera Village fireworks show will not go off as in past years, said organizer Jeff Ginsburg. The fireworks show, off Avenue I, was also canceled last year because of the new water board requirements.
Staff writer Lisa Jacobs contributed to this report.
