Odds Against a South-End Beach Project by Summer 2014

A beach replenishment project for the southern end of Ocean City is part of a massive plan to protect all New Jersey beaches from future storms, but the work is not likely to be complete by summer 2014, an Army Corps of Engineers official said on Monday.

There is a better chance that work at least could be started by then, said Jeff Gebert, chief of coastal planning for the Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District.

Gebert was a featured speaker at the annual Major Coastal Conference sponsored by the Northeast Shore and Beach Preservation Association (NSBPA) and hosted by the Coastal Research Center of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. The three-day conference (Sept. 9 to 11) features speakers on a variety of coastal-related disciplines with many sessions related to the recovery from Hurricane Sandy.

After a session on Army Corps of Engineers projects in the Philadelphia District (from Manasquan Inlet through Delaware), Gebert said that Ocean City is one of three "authorized but unconstructed" projects in the region. 

Before work can begin in Ocean City, the Army Corps must complete a "Limited Re-evaluation Report," a cost-benefit analysis that then must be reviewed at various levels in the federal government hierarchy, Gebert said.

Only then can implementation and bidding begin — a process subject to competing demands for limited dredging equipment and contractors. Gebert said he does not anticipate that the entire sequence and the ensuing work will be complete before the next beach season in Ocean City.

Gebert did say that Ocean City's report is closer to completion than the reports for other unconstructed projects because the Army Corps started with a draft that was substantially complete from the project's initial approval in 2007.

Even before Superstorm Sandy made a near-direct hit on Ocean City in October 2012, the beaches at the southern end of Ocean City were severely eroded — forcing beachgoers into the dunes at high tide. The record storm wiped out the protective dunes, dumped a deep layer of sand onto the streets and further eroded the beaches. The city awarded a $1.1 million contract to truck sand in to complete a protective berm and elevate beaches as a stopgap measure in the spring.

But south-end property owners have been advocating for the city to take action before another big storm strikes.

The city has said it will consider alternative solutions to an Army Corps project to get the job done more quickly — but it must weigh urgency against expense. The Army Corps' 2007 plan estimated the cost for south-end replenishment at $20 million. If the city were to take on the project itself, each taxpayer, on average, would pay more than $1,000.

But empowered by the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act and funded with part of the more than $50 billion in approved Sandy disaster relief, the Army Corps is committed to a comprehensive plan to rebuild and maintain all New Jersey beaches and dune systems over time. The planned work throughout the region will cost billions of dollars.

The authorized project area starts at 34th Street in Ocean City and ends at Townsend's Inlet (including the southern end of Ocean City, Strathmere and Sea Isle City).

The other major "authorized by unconstructed" projects include Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet in Ocean County and Oakwood Beach on Staten Island.

Partially complete projects include Long Beach Island (where noncontiguous beaches have been replenished) and Atlantic City (where Atlantic City and Ventnor are in renourishment phases and Margate and Longport have not been replenished).

The district also includes 10 completed projects (in renourishment phases) and one in the final feasibility phase. Sea Bright to Manasquan Inlet in Monmouth County will be next — with four contracts awarded or opening bids.

The Army Corps has a green light to do immediate additional work at any of the "completed projects" but must follow an approval process for the "authorized but unconstructed" projects.

"That's one of the ironies of Sandy," Gebert said. "Although they've been authorized, we can't take any direct action."