Posted on November 27, 2017
By Renee Spencer, stateportpilot.com
Efforts to dredge Lockwood Folly Inlet could be under way by next spring, but right now, county leaders can’t say who will get the sand if the project proceeds.
The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement Monday night that will allow APTIM, an environmental engineering and consulting firm, to assess feasibility and provide initial contract engineering services for a Lockwood Folly Inlet dredging project. But at this point, county officials don’t know if it will be Oak Island or Holden Beach that receives the beach-renourishing sand.
Assistant county manager Steve Stone presented the issue to commissioners during the board’s regular monthly meeting.
“Several times over the past year or so, the board of commissioners has indicated that they would like to see methods of dredging the Lockwood Folly Inlet that would be more cost-effective, as far as providing a navigation channel and providing an additional benefit, such as sand placement on one or more of our beaches,” Stone said.
He explained that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract to Weeks Marine to perform beach restoration projects at Wrightsville and Ocean Isle beaches between now and the end of April 2018. Weeks Marine and APTIM have been in discussions about the possibility of completing a dredging and sand placement project at Lockwood Folly Inlet. Weeks indicated it may have time to complete it before the spring environmental placement project period closes, which typically occurs on April 30.
“A piggyback project like this—if feasible—should be a significantly lower cost than a standalone project,” Stone said.
He added that the proposal would provide professional services to work with regulatory agencies and the potential contractor to determine feasibility and complete initial engineering. The project would include clearing the navigation channel to its authorized width and depth—about 150 feet wide by 12 feet deep—and placing approximately 130,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand on one of the adjacent strands. Stone said that Weeks Marine has the appropriate pipe dredge equipment to do the work.
“We don’t know right now if either of the beach communities beside the inlet has all the permits in place today to make this happen, and that’s one of the things APTIM would help us ferret-out in this project,” he said.
He pointed out that if both Oak Island and Holden Beach have the appropriate permits, it’s “technologically feasible” to split the sand between the two beaches.
“But the process of moving a pipe dredge back and forth between the two would drive up the cost,” Stone said. “So, I think it would be a likely recommendation that we decide an equitable way to determine where it went, and then a future project would probably go to the other side of the inlet.”
This type of dredging project has never been performed at Lockwood Folly, but it has been completed at other inlets along the coast.
“We think this type channel would be much more durable than the ones we’ve had for several decades,” Stone said. “Since we haven’t done it before, we don’t know for sure. But it’s reasonable to think it could last several years in essence with minor touch-up work by the corps of engineers—minor compared to the million or so dollars that it’s costing today.”
Stone said he believes the project would be eligible for the state’s “shallow draft” funding at a rate of 67-percent. Staff recommended the board consider funding 25-percent of a project, rather than the 50-percent on navigation projects.
Early cost estimates range from $2-million to $4-million, but staff notes that it is still too early in the process to tell exactly what the cost would be.
Staff asked the board to approve a professional services agreement with APTIM for $9,875 to assess feasibility and provide initial project engineering services for a Lockwood Folly Inlet dredging project.
Before approving the project, some commissioners offered their input.
Commissioner Marty Cooke expressed support for the project and made the motion to accept staff’s recommendations.
“This Lockwood Folly thing is getting old,” said commissioner Mike Forte. “They had barely pulled away three months ago, and it shoaled all up.”
Cooke suggested the county draft a resolution asking that the state offer some assistance for a more stable solution.
“We can’t keep throwing a couple million dollars a year at this thing,” Forte said.
Cooke said he had discussed the matter with Rep. Frank Iler, who encouraged commissioners to draft a resolution requesting assistance from the state.
“There’s a variety of different types of jetties and structures that are out there, just like there are different types of cars and vehicles,” Cooke said. “If we could say to the state that we would like for them to consider that, I think it would bode well for this county.”
The board unanimously approved entering into an agreement with APTIM to determine the feasibility of a Lockwood Folly Inlet dredging project with sand placement on adjoining beaches. It also approved a budget transfer of $9,875 from the shoreline protection reserve.
Later in the meeting, Forte said he would like to see a resolution that the county could send to Rep. Iler and Sen. Bill Rabon.
“The idea that we’re constantly throwing money into this thing and it shoals over before they’re even through with it is ridiculous,” Forte said, adding that there needs to be a more permanent solution.
District 3 commissioner Pat Sykes said she would like to see towns also adopt resolutions, and county manager Ann Hardy agreed. Hardy said staff would collaborate with the towns and put something together for consideration at a future meeting.
Source: stateportpilot.com
