Posted on December 20, 2016
By Claire Lowe, pressof AtlanticCity.com
Avalon has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Army Corps of Engineers, saying “an erroneous interpretation” of federal law may imperil future projects to restock sand on depleted beaches.
The borough says the agencies tried to prevent Stone Harbor from drawing sand from nearby Hereford Inlet to complete a federally-funded beach replenishment, putting its own beach fill this spring in jeopardy.
Avalon Business Administrator Scott Wahl said that the boroughs have worked out a funding deal with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to preserve the replenishment, tentatively scheduled for this spring, but is still pursuing the litigation.
As of 2014, Hereford Inlet is included as part of the Coastal Barrier Resource System and ineligible for federal funding, per the Coastal Barrier Resource Act. The inlet was previously used to draw sand for Stone Harbor beach fills.
“The application of this Act was arbitrary, capricious, while defying past practice and common sense,” said Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi.
He said a hearing is scheduled in U.S. District Court on Jan. 12.
Fish and Wildlife spokesman Gavin Shire said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
In 2002, Avalon and Stone Harbor signed a 50-year beach replenishment deal with the Army Corps that provided for replenishment every three years, called the Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet project.
Wahl said the borough hopes the court will stop the FWS from applying the Coastal Barriers Resource Act to Hereford Inlet in future rounds of funding.
Avalon, which pulls its sand from Townsends Inlet, will still receive the federal funding for the beach fill.
“If one doesn’t happen neither happens, so we’re kind of all in this together,” Wahl said of the Stone Harbor and Avalon projects.
Wahl said the Army Corps went out to bid on the project over the summer. He said that the problem with using Hereford Inlet wasn’t brought up until the bid opening.
According to Army Corps spokesman Steve Rochette, a $9.8 million contract was awarded to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company this week for the project, which calls for 145,000 cubic yards of sand for Avalon and 210,000 cubic yards for Stone Harbor.
He said there is an option for an additional 250,000 cubic yards at Avalon, for a total of approximately 605,000 cubic yards of sand in the project area.
Rochette said the anticipated start date is “sometime this winter.”
Avalon’s beach fill has a cost share of 65 percent federal and 35 percent state and local. The state and local share is split 75 percent state and 25 percent municipal.
Wahl said that the boroughs initiated action immediately to make sure the beach fill would go on as planned.
Source: PressofAC
