Seawall In Point Beach 'Gives False Hope,' Sierra Club Says

POINT PLEASANT BEACH – Jenkinson’s Pavilion has started construction on a steel seawall on its private property in Point Pleasant Beach, and the Sierra Club says it's only providing the community "false hope."

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the seawall is part of a settlement with Point Pleasant Beach, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lawsuit was settled in July, and requires Jenkinson’s to build a steel seawall as part of the beach replenishment in that area.

Tittel says that, instead of putting in dunes that "actually work, putting in a steel sea wall will not work and will give people false hope."

"This wall will be overtopped and undermined with the first storm, just like the wall in Mantoloking," he said. "Not only will it not work, it will actually make things worse. When waves hit the steel wall, the energy from the waves vibrates the steel which causes beach erosion.”

Tittel said sea walls and other similar programs have failed in the past.

"Instead, Jenkinson Pavilion should be restoring dunes and natural systems to protect the coast from storms and sea-level rise," he said. "Unlike steel, dunes can absorb the energy from the waves. Otherwise, all of this work will get destroyed in the next storm.”

The settlement in July ended a 2-year-long legal battle between Jenkinson’s Pavilion and state and federal authorities. Jenkinson’s did not want to be responsible for any barrier, but eventually agreed to construct a steel sheet pile bulkhead 18 feet above sea-level at its own expense, Tittel claims.

“This project is folly. Sea walls not only do not work, but they actually cause more damage. The walls raise water levels and the water moves around the wall, making it worse in adjoining areas. Steel walls transfer energy from the waves to the sand, creating canyons and gullies in the beach," he said.

Walls also don’t work because they just cause the water to go over or around them "just like the Germans did when confronted with the Maginot Line during World War II. The Maginot Line didn’t protect France from the Germans, and this steel wall will not work to protect the shore from storm surges," he said

"This is a project that will create serious environmental damage. This wall will cause stagnation of water and a plethora of other environmental problems. It will also trap toxic sediments and other pollutants closer to communities,” he said.

In 2014, Jenkinson’s sued to stop a federal project from installing 22-foot-high dunes and widening the beach between the Manasquan and Barnegat inlets to prevent coastal flooding during hurricanes. The steel seawall that they are constructing as part of the settlement will rise 3.5 feet above the boardwalk, and Jenkinson’s will be required to block public access points with planks of steel or timber during severe storms, he said.

“Instead of wasting money and time constructing this steel wall, they should be using holistic solutions to sea-level rise and storms. The original federal project would have restored the dunes in the area. This approach would be much more effective at protecting the coast from storm surges and sea level rise. Restoring dunes, natural systems, and moving buildings back from harm’s way should be the priorities right now,” said Tittel. “Seawalls provide a false sense of security and do not actually protect people from storm surges. Programs like this have failed in the past. The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome. Hardening the coast will not actually prevent nature from seeking its revenge.”