Black Substance Shows Up On Jersey Shore

A black substance has shown up at the Jersey Shore that has worried a number of beachgoers and led to a partial closure of one ocean beach, according to state Department of Environmental Protection. The substance appeared just as a beach replenishment program has been underway.

The darker sand was the result of the Army Corps Of Engineers pumping material from offshore that has a "higher organic material and clay content," according to Larry Hajna, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

As a precaution, 500 feet of Ortley Beach on either side of the discharge pipe was closed on Thursday, he said.

Visitors at Jersey Shore beaches said that the substance looks like black rocks and pebbles and it crumbles easily. “It looks like we are looking at an oil spill that has coagulated,” Joe Sanosi told News12.

Some beachgoers told News12 that the substance is showing up in Ortley Beach on their bathing suits and skin. “Our concerns are for…the effects on human people if they go in [the ocean],” grandmother Monica Simpson, who was not letting her grandkids swim, told News12.

During beachfill operations on Thursday in Ortley, the Army Corps of Engineers team says it observed a darker material being pumped onto the beach. The team initiated a geotechnical investigation to better understand the situation.

It appears the dredge hit a peat layer in the offshore borrow area. Peat is a naturally occurring material and is typically a combination of ancient soil and vegetative materials. Though undesirable and a nuisance in a beachfill operation, they are sometimes encountered during the dredging process, according to a release from the Army Corps.

The dredge resumed operations on Friday and the team observed typical sand being discharged from the pipe. Toms River raked the beach and was able to remove the vast majority of the peat material from the beach. The project team will continue to monitor the material being pumped onto the beach as always.

Beachgoers still may have to deal with some disruptions this summer as the Army Corps of Engineers continues its work on the dune construction and beach replenishment in northern Ocean County.

The current schedule has the work tentatively set to be completed by 2019.

Ortley Beach residents, meanwhile were scheduled for construction from July to October. The community, which was the hardest hit during Sandy, received initial fill in late May 2017 that extended the beach 150 feet. The work scheduled for this year is the second phase and part of the overall project. The Normandy Beach area is scheduled for early April through mid-June, according to the current Army Corps list.

The project has been beset by delays from the start. Plans to start work last year before summer hit were pushed back when the contractor, Weeks Marine, was delayed at a project down in the southern part of the United States.

Also disrupting the original schedule were a settlement reached in July 2017 between Jenkinson's and federal officials after Jenkinson's sued to block the dune work. That settlement added Point Pleasant Beach to the schedule.

And in August 2017, Judge Marlene Lynch Ford ruled against Bay Head homeowners who were fighting the project, paving the way for adding the borough to the project and meeting the original goal of a beach replenishment/dune project that stretches from the Manasquan Inlet to Island Beach State Park.

There also have been equipment issues. An update in December on the Mantoloking borough municipal website said a cable had snapped on a barge and ocean swells had been too strong for work to be done.

The schedule as it stands now is as follows. Toms River officials said the Army Corps has said it will update the schedule frequently:

• Point Pleasant Beach: Current construction estimate is late December to late January of 2019. Access via Maryland Avenue will be modified to allow limited equipment access. Pedestrian access will be maintained. Point Beaches are open except within fenced construction area.
• Bay Head: Current construction estimate is early October through December.
• Mantoloking Northern Area, from Station 207 (Approx. 2000 ft. north of Herbert St.) to the municipal boundary with Bay Head; current construction estimate is late-August through early October.
• Lavallette: Current construction estimate is early October through late December.
• Toms River South (Ortley Beach): Current estimate was late July to October.
• Seaside Heights: Current estimate was late October to December.
• Seaside Park: Current estimate was late August to early October.

This is a developing story We'll have more information as it comes in.

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