The US Army Corps of Engineers
New York District just announced the details of a navigational dredging project
for the Sandy Hook Channel – a major artery for shipping and recreational
boating. What makes this project so unique is that the sand and gravel
excavated from the channel will be placed at the Sea Bright Borrow Area – the
main source of beach nourishment sand for Northern coastal New Jersey.
COA has been advocating for many
years for the placement of material from these types of locations back to the
borrow area to spare other natural sand formations from harvest, and
beneficially use the dredge material from the channel. This is an example of a
win-win – for navigation, for coastal communities, and for marine life that
live on these natural lumps. The goal is that the replenishment of these borrow
areas will alleviate some of the need for harvesting from untouched areas.
There are other areas in New Jersey that can make this work, including major
inlets and other areas of sand accretion.
See https://njbeaches.org/njdep_public_files/pdfs/sandresourcemap2012.pdf for a map of sand resources identified for current or potential future use.
We are working to identify these
locations, and the borrow areas close to them that have been used in the past
so that the USACE can then dredge them for navigation and place that material
in the borrow area for storage. While not a blanket solution, this type of
project can at least minimize the impact of nourishment activities by
alleviating the need for borrowing from new areas while providing for
navigation and coastal protection.
A final note: we recognize that
this material is not going out to the HARS site for remediation (for capping
the contaminated area) as it has been placed there in the past, however COA
believes that at this point in time, that material can be used to greater
effect by being “stored” at the Sea Bright borrow area for further beach
nourishment placement. This does not mean HARS is remediated and no longer
needs clean sand, it does and we keep a close and watchful eye on any placement
out there.
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