For Now, South-End Sand Will Come by Land

In an update to City Council and the public on Thursday, the city administration gave a unambiguous summary of its short-term plan to save eroded south-end beaches.

"It's going to be trucking, realistically," Business Administrator Mike Dattilo said.

The city will continue to truck in sand from the mainland and to "harvest" sand from other beaches in Ocean City to bolster a protective berm and to elevate and widen the "towel area" of the beach, Dattilo said.

Eroding beaches on the southern end of the island — particularly between 50th and 59th Street — disappeared during many high tides in summer 2012. The beaches did little to stop Superstorm Sandy from wiping out the dune system and flooding streets and homes in October 2012. And with a federal beach replenishment project underway on the northern end of the island, property owners from the southern end have become more vocal about the need for the city to take action.

Dattilo said the city remains hopeful for a long-term solution in the form of an ongoing Army Corps of Engineers beach-replenishment project. That solution would bring the Army Corps back every three years for maintenance pumping and be funded (by the millions) mostly through the federal and state governments (Ocean City's cost share would be 8.75 percent). 

An Army Corps plan for south-end beach-widening has already been approved and is awaiting funding. Dattilo said that while the list of newly funded projects is not yet available, the city remains in close contact with federal legislators.

He said citizen comments "are being noticed" and that the lawmakers are "very aware of our situation in the south end of Ocean City."

At the same time, the city is exploring the possibility of a similar project funded by the city and the state. Dattilo said a conference call is scheduled for next week.

But he cautioned City Council not to expect that a project could be approved, permitted, funded and completed by summer.

"I understand the perception that other towns have snapped their fingers and cut through the red tape," Dattilo said.

But he said the other New Jersey towns that will see beach replenishment in the coming months — like Ocean City's north end — were part of already approved projects.

Councilman Scott Ping asked if the city were to divert its entire capital budget to fund a south-end dredging project, could it happen?

"Not this summer," Dattilo said.

Dattilo said the city has experienced some success in the past with trucking in sand to the south end. And as is often the case for many barrier island beaches in the spring, "a tremendous amount of sand is just offshore," he said.

In the interim between Sandy and the nor'easter last week, some of the sand had begun to return to the beaches, making them fairly healthy on regular tides. The same natural rebuilding could occur in the spring.

After concentrating on rebuilding the protective berm as part of a $2.7 million dune restoration project recently approved by City Council, the city will begin to restore the beach with a combination of finer sand and harvested sand sometime in April.

Dattilo also updated Council on the progress of beach replenishment on the north end. After a week-long delay due to the nor'easter and continued rough water, the dredge is back in place and ready to move on to the only areas breached during last week's storm.

As at the past several Council meetings, south-end property owners urged City Council to take action on protecting property, recreation and the visitor economy by preserving the beaches.