Posted on June 16, 2020
Sandwich Town Manager George H. (Bud) Dunham informed selectmen two weeks ago that the US Army Corps of Engineers’ North Atlantic Division has agreed, verbally, that the stone jetties at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal have diverted sand from Sandwich’s shore and that the Corps should renourish Town Neck Beach with $12.5 million worth of sand.
The approval by the Corps’ North Atlantic Division must still be put into writing, be subject to public hearings, and approved by Army Corps officials in Washington, DC, as part of a so-called Section 111 study.
Specifically, the Army Corps is recommending that 388,000 cubic yards of sand be dredged from a site just off Scusset Beach and deposited onto Town Neck.
Last week, the Enterprise sat down (remotely) with Mr. Dunham to discuss the significance of the news and to ask about next steps.
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Q: How significant a step is the North Atlantic Division’s recommendation in the grand scheme of the Section 111 study?
A: This is a major step in our efforts with the Army Corps. Without support to finalize the Section 111 study, there would be no future project.
[On May 27] the New England Division was given the verbal permission to move forward with the final report.
Ultimately, it needs to be approved by the national office around the end of 2020.
The recommended project is taking 388,000 cubic yards of material from the Scusset borrow site and placing it within our approved beach and dune template.
Both of these components—the template and Scusset—were paid for and permitted by the town so it’s a huge benefit that we have existing permits for this part of the work.
The estimated cost of this work is right around the $12.5 million maximum amount that a Section 111 project can be funded by the federal government. Anything over $12.5 million is no longer their responsibility.
Our coastal engineering consultants from Woods Hole Group think the recommended project is the best we could have realistically hoped for and they strongly support the canal dredging permits being amended to allow to get the compatible dredge spoils. We will need political help with this last part.
Q: How many more steps does the 111 study have until completion?
A: There are several. They include finalizing the draft report, seeking public comment in August, then completing the final report for DC Army Corps approval around the end of 2020.
Q: Do you have any idea how much longer we’re going to have to wait for a final determination? Who will that come from in the end?
A: Army Corps headquarters in Washington, DC, gives the final approval. Project manager Mike Riccio hopes we’ll have this by the end of 2020.
Q: What can the town be doing in the meantime?
A: The biggest thing we can do over the ensuing months is contact our federal legislative delegation to seek support to add a requirement to the existing Cape Cod Canal Operations & Maintenance permits (that is, the periodic dredging we see every seven years or so) that east end canal dredge spoils get placed on Sandwich’s beaches within our approved template rather than dropped in Cape Cod Bay. The other thing we will do in the meantime is have Mike attend a selectmen meeting for a presentation and we will reach out to some of the private abutters directly. The wording of any future easements is still being worked on and needs to be reviewed by Army Corps headquarters as well.
Q: Were you surprised that the beach maintenance agreement (regularly adding sand to the beach) was not part of the North Atlantic Division’s recommendation?
A: No. Mike has been communicating with us regularly for years so we knew the recommended project would use all of the $12.5 million.
Q: No matter what the determination is, would the town still move forward with the Scusset Beach sand borrow? How would we pay for it and how worth it would it be without a maintenance plan in place?
A: In the unlikely event the Army Corps does not approve their own recommended solution, a difficult decision would have to be made about what to be funded and how. A massive debt exclusion would be the only local way for this to be funded, in my opinion. That’s a large cost to absorb knowing there are no assurances for how long sand will last.
Q: In your opinion, when is the earliest we’ll see sand land on Town Neck?
A: I don’t want to guess at this one and would defer to the technical experts. We need to hear from the Army Corps how they secure money for federally approved Section 111 projects. For example, is a special appropriation from Congress needed for the work or does it just get included in their annual operating budget?
Source: capenews
