Army Corps: We Want Beach Project Done As Soon As Possible

Brick Township residents who live on the barrier peninsula, the Army Corps of Engineers has a message about the dune replenishment project: “We want it done as soon as possible.”

Delays in the project to replenish the beaches from Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet that were so deeply damaged by Superstorm Sandy have been loudly criticized by residents of Toms River’s Ortley Beach section for months, through protests on the barrier peninsula and on the steps of the Statehouse in Trenton.

And while their neighbors to the south have been calling on the Army Corps, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Gov. Chris Christie for months to get moving, Brick residents have been quieter. But the fear and desperation was clear Tuesday night.

“We’re losing our community,” Phyllis Perrin of Sunset Lane, told Brick officials during a Township Council meeting at the Normandy Beach Homeowners Association clubhouse. The council has held one meeting each summer on the barrier peninsula for the last few years.

“Neighbors are leaving because they’re worried the money won’t be there to do the project,” said Perrin, who said she has lived in the Deauville Beach community for 16 years. “I lost my home three years ago. I don’t want to rebuild my home if there won’t be any protection.”

“We need to know they (the Army Corps) are coming,” Perrin said.

Congress approved funding for the project in January 2013 as part of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, passed in the wake of Sandy. Initially the hope was the project would get underway in 2014, but legal challenges and the process of obtaining easements to allow the Army Corps access to do the work have delayed the project.

“From an engineering and construction standpoint, we’re ready to get to work,” said Ed Vogt, spokesman for the Army Corps. “The real estate (issues) -- that’s the only thing that’s in the way.”

Getting the easements is something the towns and the state DEP have been working hard to accomplish, both local and state officials have said.

“We’re down to our final 326 easements needed, after starting off needing around 4,300 down the entire coast,” said Bob Considine, spokesman for the DEP. “These are the most hardcore of the holdouts.” None of the holdouts are contiguous properties, Vogt said.

Robert Christiansen of Sunset Boulevard asked Brick officials Tuesday night what the town’s role is and what the town is doing to ensure that all the easements are obtained in a timely fashion.

“It’s imperative that we be part of the initial part of the project,” Christiansen said.

Township Attorney Kevin Starkey said the township’s role at this point is one of monitoring the situation, as the appraisals and the eminent domain proceedings are state actions, not the town’s responsibility.

“It’s a state process,” Starkey said, but one the town is monitoring. “We are moving that along as quickly as we can. It is the state’s obligation to do that.”

In Brick, there are 42 property easements needed, held by 27 owners, Considine said. Those properties are being appraised, as the next step before eminent domain filings occur, and the state is moving as quickly as possible, he said.

Additionally, the DEP and the Army Corps have nearly finalized language for the easements needed in beach associations, both Considine and Vogt said.

The Army Corps had rejected side agreements that had been signed with several Toms River beach associations because of concerns over how the language could impact the work that needs to be done. Vogt said officials have been hashing out language with the DEP and those associations that should address everyone’s concerns.

“What we presented was a private beach club easement instead of standard easement,” Vogt said, referring to a recent meeting with DEP officials and Toms River officials and residents. The private beach club easement allows for beach tags and other items that the standard assessment does not, he said.

“We’’re still finalizing it, but it provides beach club owners what they were seeking but doesn’t conflict with the easements,” Vogt said.

Once the easements are completed, then the Army Corps will be able to determine whether it is cost-effective to do the project in phases, Vogt said -- something the DEP has asked and residents are begging the Army Corps to consider because of the issues of the Jenkinson’s lawsuit in Point Pleasant Beach, and the refusal by most Bay Head property owners to sign easements.

“We have to look at the economics,” Vogt said. Dredging the sand necessary for the beach replenishment -- and getting the equipment in place to do so “runs into several million dollars.” Moving the equipment multiple times may simply be too expensive, he said.

“The funding (for the project) is there, but it’s not an open checkbook,” Vogt said. He did not say where the Army Corps would draw the line on the costs to do the project in phases.

Vogt said there is no hard deadline for completion of the project or for use of the funds allocated for it -- a concern expressed by several Brick residents Tuesday night.

And while he would not give a specific timeline, he said the Army Corps is hopeful DEP will be able to provide the remainder of the easements in the next few months so that the project can go out to bid by the end of the year or early next year.

“It’s a time-consuming project and we understand the frustration with delays more than anyone,” Considine said. “But we have no doubt that this project is going to get done.”

“One thing we have in common is we want it done as soon as possible,” Vogt said.

(Mounds of sand lined the oceanfront north of Brick’s Camp Osborn last fall as the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy approached. Barrier peninsula residents question whether real dunes will be put in place to protect property if another hurricane hits the Jersey Shore. Credit: Karen Wall)