Posted on December 4, 2017
By Cammie Bellamy, StarNews Staff
To combat beach erosion, village leaders in Brunswick County’s Bald Head Island hope to borrow sand from Jay Bird Shoals.
The Army Corps of Engineers’ Wilmington office has received a request from village officials to dredge a section of the shoals and deposit the sand along South Beach, next to a terminal groin built in 2015. Terminal groins are permanent, wall-like structures that extend from the beach into the ocean to catch sand and slow erosion.
Village Manager Chris McCall said the dredging request is necessary to support the terminal groin’s fillet, the sand that fills in around it.
“While (the terminal groin) is doing its job, you’re still going to have erosion over time,” McCall said. “As part of the terminal groin permit, state law requires that you maintain the fillet of the terminal groin structure.”
Jay Bird Shoals is a sand deposit that sits west of the island, between Bald Head and Fort Caswell. McCall said if approved, the project would dredge 1 million cubic yards of sand from the shoals and deposit it along the south-facing shoreline.
This isn’t the first time Bald Head Island has sought sand from Jay Bird Shoals; McCall said there was a similar dredge project in 2010.
“We were seeing significant erosion back to public infrastructure, roads and potential impacts to water sewer utilities as well as impacts to private homes,” he recalled.
Originally, Bald Head leaders planned to get sand from Frying Pan Shoals southeast of the island. But after the National Marine Fisheries Service said dredging Frying Pan could impact fish-breeding habitats, McCall said officials turned to Jay Bird.
According to the corps’ request, the sand would be placed from the terminal groin at the southwest tip of the island to 9,000 feet east. The corps will accept public comment on the request through Dec. 20.
McCall estimates the dredging would take place winter 2018-19.
Terminal groins have critics who argue the permanent structures can starve other parts of the beach for sand and endanger animal habitats. But as McCall noted, federal dollars for regular beach nourishment have dried up, and state leaders are still working on a plan for future funding. He said before the terminal groin was in place, Bald Head Island had to dredge and place sand along the beach about every two years.
“It’s been the right step forward and has proven up to this point to be of a significant benefit,” he said.
Want to weigh in?
The Army Corps of Engineers is taking public comments on Bald Head Island’s request to dredge Jay Bird Shoals. Comments should be submitted to Ronnie Smith, Regulatory Division, 69 Darlington Ave., Wilmington, N.C., 28403, or at 910-251-4829.
Source: StarNews
