As the sea continues to carve into the storm-battered dunes on Bay Head's beach, Mayor Bill Curtis says he hopes an emergency permit to make repairs will soon be approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The borough plans to use one of its on-call contractors to lower the slope of eroded dunes that Curtis said have become increasingly dangerous since a strong nor'easter struck the Jersey Shore earlier this month.
"Right now we have a very dangerous situation," Curtis told the Press. He said he believes the borough could get the permit from DEP this week.
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The mayor estimates nearly 10 more feet of sand has been carved out of dunes at Bridge Avenue and Mount Street in the week since Curtis and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., met in Bay Head with Lt. Col. David Park, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District, and DEP officials to review storm damage.
"It's creating a cave-like carve-out," Curtis said. "I am afraid kids will see that and go in, and it will collapse."
The borough has closed its beaches: only the Strickland Street entrance remains open.
New Jersey has requested financial help from the corps to repair the dune line in Bay Head — and other areas of the Jersey Shore — that suffered severe erosion during a strong nor'easter that struck the coast during the first week of February. See drone footage of the damage to Bay Head beaches in the video above.
Officials who toured in Bay Head said the severe erosion, which led to drops of 10 to 18 feet from the top of the dune line to the sand, presents a public safety hazard that should be immediately repaired.
Park said last week that the corps does not believe that the damage caused by the nor'easter would qualify as "an extraordinary event," the designation the agency must meet before it can place sand on badly damaged beaches before scheduled "renourishment" projects.
Washed away dunes are shown along the Bay Head coastline Friday, February 5, 2021.
That means the corps does not plan to come in and fix the damage this time around, he said.
Renourishment happens on a periodic basis for 50 years after the corps completes a major beach replenishment, like the nearly $130 million project to expand beaches and build dunes from Manasquan to Barnegat Inlets that was finished in 2019.
Curtis said he did not know yet what the emergency repair work would cost. And while the mayor said Bay Head hopes to get reimbursed for the dune from either the state or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, so far, it seems unlikely that money will be forthcoming.
In between the corps' scheduled renourishments of beaches, the costs of making repairs after storms is normally borne by the state and local municipalities.
The DEP agreed to expedite the permit at a virtual meeting held Feb. 18 that involved most of the officials who toured the damaged dunes Feb. 12, Smith said.
"My major focus is public safety," he said.
While Bay Head is allowed to do regular maintenance and push sand on the beach, the borough is not allowed to work on the dunes without permission from the DEP.
Officials from the Army Corps of Engineers and the DEP meet with local mayors, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, and U.S. Rep. Andy Kim to tour storm damage from the Jan. 31-Feb. 3 nor'easter. The governor and NJDEP have asked the Army Corps to come in and help shore up beaches badly damaged from the storm, including Ortley Beach, Mantoloking, and Bay Head. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith surveys the damage in Bay Head. Bay Head, NJ Friday, February, 12, 2021
Smith said he is still lobbying the corps for funding, although Park said that there did not appear to be any discretion in the law governing use of funds appropriated by Congress each year. Smith said he wants to research possible legislation or an administrative fix that could change the criteria for army corps assistance following storms.
The call for assistance from the corps is bipartisan: U.S. Reps. Andy Kim and Frank Pallone, both D-N.J., along with a nine other members of the state's congressional delegation, have signed a letter to Park and the Army Corps offices in New York City and Fort Hamilton, New York, asking the agency to do its own survey of damage caused by the nor'easter, and requesting information on how the corps can help the Jersey Shore.
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Many Bay Head oceanfront homeowners — along with some in neighboring Mantoloking and Point Pleasant Beach — opposed the Army Corps beach replenishment project and fought it -- so far unsuccessfully -- in court.
Oceanfront property owners in Bay Head and northern Mantoloking argued that they have spent more than $7 million of their own money to construct and maintain a rock wall that they say lessened damage when superstorm Sandy slammed into the northern Ocean County barrier island in October 2012.
The homeowners had attempted to opt out of beach replenishment.
But the DEP and the corps argued that dune construction and beach expansion was needed along the entire length of the project, to ensure that it provided maximum protection for an area that was among the hardest hit by Sandy's storm surge.
"We’re concerned but we are confident that the beaches will be fine by opening day, June 15," Curtis said, referring to the crucial summer tourist season. In the meantime, the borough will likely wait until April before putting extra sand on the beach, fearing that it could wash away in another severe storm.
"Behind the Army Corps dune is our rock wall revetment," Curtis said. "It saved Bay Head during Sandy. If necessary, it will happen again."
Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 36 years. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene.
Original source found here.
