Residents Concerned Over Safety And Timing Of Ship Bottom Beach Replenishment

by Steve Moran

The delayed beach replenishment project in Ship Bottom has begun with the arrival of a dredge on Monday, but complaints came in before the first grain of sand hit the beach.

Posts on social media late last week said that bulldozers were digging up all the existing dune fence and vegetation on the east side of the dune, leaving behind broken fence posts, nails, wire and other debris.

Others were concerned on the impact to the early tourist season - including Memorial Day weekend - with the late start. The project was scheduled to begin last month, but was delayed while waiting for the arrival of the dredge.

The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) estimates it will take 35 days to complete the Ship Bottom portion of the project, which will also involve other sections of Long Beach Island throughout the year.

The concern on the dunes was that the broken posts and other debris would cause a safety hazard in the future as the dune grass and fences were replaced at the completion of the project. Borough residents are also looking to add to the new grass with indigenous plants to replace the ones being torn out in the future.

Christine Rooney, who is spearheading the effort, said she was concerned that the new dunes will be “clean and safe.”

“I am a supporter of the restoration, but it needs to be done in a way that is an enhancement, not a deterrent to the borough,” she said

Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Steve Rochette, the contractor (Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company) is required to remove and dispose of existing fence identified by the Corps and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

“They will do their best to gather the wire, slats and posts from the fencing being removed prior to adding new sand,” he said in an e-mail on Tuesday.

A walk this weekend along the bulldozed dunes prior to the start of the sand pumping showed there was debris, including jagged, snapped fence posts and wire sticking up through the sand.

Rochette said Ship Bottom was offered the option of removing the fencing itself, but officials chose to have the contractor do it.

Ship Bottom Mayor William Huelsenbeck said the borough had agreed to let the removal be handled as part of the project. He does not want the borough held liable for the removal.

“It is being covered by federal money, so why not let them do it,” he said.

When told about what was recently observed on the dunes he said the agreement with the Army Corps was was that “any fencing buried more that ¾ of the way down would be left and covered.”

Also, anything remaining after the removal should be covered by enough sand to not pose a hazard in the future, said Huelsenbeck.

He said he would visit the beach to check on the situation. He also defended the project and said it’s needed to protect the borough’s $1.2 billion in rateables.

Prior to the start of the project, Rochette had said only the east or seaward side of the dunes would be cleared and there should be no impact to vegetation on the landward side.

However, sand was observed spilling over the top of the dune at 7th Street to bury the existing vegetation. Also, a crossover walkway was being removed on another street end with heavy equipment parked on the westward dunes and the torn up planking placed on top of the vegetation alongside.

Rochette said, a number of crossovers at the street ends are outside of the statement of work and are being left “as is.” He said the NJDEP and the borough should be contacted for the specifics as they are overseeing that part of the project.