Posted on November 29, 2016
By Chris Flood, Cape Gazette
The gift giving holidays are just around the corner, and Rehoboth and Dewey officials have received word they’ll be getting their favorite gift of all – a new beach.
During a preconstruction meeting Nov. 16, Rehoboth and Dewey officials were told by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives that beach replenishment should begin on Rehoboth’s northern beach the last week of November or the first week of December. The beginning stages of the equipment needed for the work could be seen being moved into place Nov. 19 on Rehoboth’s shore.
Steve Rochette, corps spokesman, said Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company will be doing the dredging, working their way south toward Dewey with two of their dredges – the Dodge Island and Padre Island. Depending on weather, he said, beachfill operations are expected to last approximately one month.
Rochette said several contract options were awarded, bringing the total cost to $11.2 million. The corps will pay 65 percent of that cost. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will pay the remaining 35 percent.
The base contract called for 424,000 cubic yards to be pumped, but Rochette said there will be 653,000 cubic yards pumped with the options added – 384,000 for Rehoboth and 269,000 in Dewey. He said the beach width will vary when the project is complete, but there will be about 200 feet at the widest point along northern Rehoboth.
There were 13 possible options, and the corps and DNREC have picked up eight, including pedestrian, vehicle and handicap crossovers in Rehoboth, and two beachfill options totaling an additional 133,000 cubic yards in Dewey.
Options not picked up include sand fencing in Rehoboth and Dewey, and dune grass in Rehoboth.
Tony Pratt, administrator of DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterways Management section, said a funding source for the sand fencing and dune grass hasn’t been found, but the corps and DNREC are working together to find one.
As previously reported in the Cape Gazette, the corps and DNREC will be using a new borrow site, about three miles off the coast of Delaware Seashore State Park for this replenishment. Rochette said there is enough sand from this new site for future beach replenishments.
Pratt said the timing of the project is extremely fortunate. The project should not create too much of a hardship because the beach is little used this time of year, he said.
“It’s something that will hardly even be noticed,” he said of the construction.
Dewey Beach Mayor Dale Cooke said he is happy the project is starting soon. There’s a small worry, he said, about the chance of winter storms causing delays, which could mean possible issues of sand still being pumped when visitors begin arriving in the spring.
“But if the timing works out, you know that you’ll have a big, beautiful beach for the coming summer,” Cooke said.
Pratt said corps engineers account for winter storms when creating their proposals. He said the idea is to set back the erosion clock.
“These beaches are put there to be sacrificed,” he said. “These beaches help avoid damages to things that are much more expensive to fix, like boardwalks, businesses and infrastructure.”
Krys Johnson, Rehoboth spokeswoman, said the staging area for the operation will be on Deauville Beach for the entirety of the project. She said the replenishment will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Johnson said the city is thrilled the project is moving forward. It’s going to be a short timeframe and then it will be done, she said.
Cooke said this past summer he heard few complaints about the width of the beach. He said he heard comments about the level of the beach and questions about future replenishment.
“People seemed to understand the situation,” he said.
Oil drilling off the Atlantic Coast
A lot of money has been, is being and will be spent on beach replenishment in Delaware. Replenishment saves valuable infrastructure and buildings along Delaware’s coastline, and also serves millions of Cape Region visitors who enjoy the wide beaches on vacation.
In the past year, beachfront communities all along the East Coast, including ones from Lewes to Ocean City, Md., signed a resolution against offshore seismic testing and oil development in the Atlantic Ocean.
In March, the Obama administration announced the Atlantic region had been removed from an upcoming oil and gas leasing plan that would have allowed seismic testing and offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Atlantic from 2017 to 2022.
Through the the multiyear process, outgoing U.S. Representative and Governor-elect John Carney and U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons all opposed the program. All three have recently said they will continue to fight against the program on behalf of Delawareans as president-elect Donald Trump moves into the White House.
Drilling off the Atlantic puts Delaware and its neighbors at risk, said Carney. The nation’s future lies in alternative energy technologies, like offshore wind, he said.
“Not only is [drilling for oil and gas off the Atlantic Coast] unnecessary, it threatens our beaches and our tourist economy,” he said.
Carper, who on Nov. 16 was named as the top-ranking Democrat on the Environmental and Public Works Committee in the Senate, said states should have a key role to play in deciding what types of energy development occur on and off their shores.
He recognized that oil and gas will be a big part of the country’s energy supply for the foreseeable future, but, he said, the country needs to reduce the consumption of these fuels and pursue clean technologies.
“By investing in clean technologies like offshore wind, solar, water and other alternative energy sources, we can put our country on a path toward a more sustainable energy future,” he said.
Coons said it’s unclear what proposals Trump will move forward with, but he intends to stand in opposition to any proposal that rolls back effective regulations and damages Delaware’s coastline and environment under the guise of cutting red tape.
Source: Cape Gazette
