Posted on May 27, 2019
MONTEREY — A massive plan to temporarily halt beach erosion from undercutting a number of structures in Monterey and surrounding areas was advanced Tuesday by the Monterey City Council.
Over the next 50 years portions of coastal dunes of southern Monterey Bay are predicted to erode at a rate of between 1 foot and 6 feet a year, said Kimberly Cole, Monterey’s community development director. As a result, there are a number of structures at high risk and require action to prevent their loss.
Among the structures noted are Monterey Beach Resort, Ocean Harbor House condominiums, Monterey La Playa townhomes, Sanctuary Beach Resort as well as pumping stations and other infrastructure near beaches.
Called the Monterey Bay Opportunistic Beach Nourishment Program, the plan entails hauling beach-quality sand from other inland locations as a result of construction, development or dredging projects. The sand would be added to stockpiles at different locations and then be applied to dry sand areas above high tide marks, according to public documents provided to the City Council.
For example, Monterey periodically dredges its harbor and the sand is then used to shore up sections of Del Monte Beach. Opportunities like that are why the plan is called “Opportunistic,” Cole said.
The action City Council took Tuesday was passing a resolution declaring that environmental concerns about the project have been addressed — or mitigated.
Scientists point to sand dredging by Cemex plant in Marina for much of the erosion.
“The large extraction of beach sand permanently removes sediment that would otherwise feed beaches elsewhere along southern Monterey Bay,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has reported, “If this sand is released and subsequently transported alongshore, it could provide a significant additional buffer to dune erosion by waves.”
One of NOAA’s recommendations is to allow Marina beaches to erode, which would then replenish sand to other areas of the southern Monterey Bay. As the logic goes, there’s not much in Marina for erosion to threaten.
“This (Marina) erosion will continue to provide large quantities of sand to the beaches, maintaining their healthy condition and provide benefits for sensitive species and habitats,” according to a NOAA technical report. “Apart from the Sanctuary Beach Resort and Marina Coast Water District buildings, this area does not contain any facilities at high risk of erosion.”
While Monterey is the lead agency in the effort, it realized early on that it couldn’t address beach erosion in a vacuum, so it formed a consortium with Seaside, Marina, Sand City and the state to establish the Southern Monterey Bay Coastal Erosion Workgroup. That group then developed a Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan that contains recommended policies and strategies.
It also counted on research conducted by NOAA and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, as well as others, to help generate policies.
The idea of trucking large volumes of sand into stockpiles has raised eyebrows among state and regional regulators. In a letter to Monterey staff, the California Coastal Commission, for instance, questioned whether dumping sand on dunes would harm sensitive habitat. The city responded that it has plans to distribute sand in a manner that would not harm plant species, animal species or bird species.
The Monterey Bay Air Resources District listed among its concerns, for example, the amount of dust that would be generated by the project. The city addressed that point by assuring the District that it would apply the same standards it does on any construction project to limit dust.
The next step is for Seaside and Sand City to adopt the Monterey resolution as a model for their own individual resolutions, Cole said.
But the Coastal Commission reminded the city that its plan is a “temporary solution and structures may ultimately have to be moved.”
Source: montereyherald.com
