Posted on August 11, 2015
The Town of Sandwich is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the U.S. in conjunction with placing dredged and fill material at Town Neck Beach to restore the eroding beach in Sandwich, Mass. The proposed project involves work and the placement of dredged and fill material below the high tide line of waters of the U.S. in order to perform beach and dune nourishment of Town Neck Beach.
Approximately 388,000 cubic yards of material will be placed along 5,000 linear feet of the beach covering 41 acres in area. The town is seeking the flexibility to construct the project using a mixture of trucking and hydraulic pumping of dredged material, potentially in phases over multiple years. This flexibility will allow beneficial reuse of dredged sediment when it becomes available from nearby dredging projects, with additional sand trucked to the site from local sources as funding allows. Some of the dredged material may come from the Cape Cod Canal. The Corps is preparing a suitability determination to determine if the nourishment material is compatible with the existing beach sediments.
The project purpose is to restore the eroding beach and dunes to manage coastal erosion and upland flooding. The project also will help protect existing salt marsh and improve recreational benefits of the beach.
The proposed project will impact 41 acres of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for various species and life stages. This habitat consists of intertidal sand. Loss of this habitat may adversely affect these species. However, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the site-specific adverse effect will not be substantial. Further consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding EFH conservation recommendations is being conducted and will be concluded prior to the final permit decision.
The application for the federal permit was filed with the Corps in compliance with Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which provides for federal regulation of any work in, or affecting navigable waters of the U.S.; and with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in U.S. waters, including wetlands. The public notice, with more detailed information, can be viewed on the Corps website at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx.
Public comments on this proposed work by the Town of Sandwich (file #NAE-2014-259) should be forwarded no later than Aug. 27, 2015 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: phillip.w.nimeskern@usace.army.mil.
