Hearing Continuted On Beach Nourishment

By MARTHA V. SCANLON
If proponents of the time-sensitive beach nourishment project on Menauhant Beach were thinking that the local permitting process could be wrapped up this week, the Falmouth Conservation Commission let them know otherwise Wednesday night.
The commission decided to continue the hearing on the project to Wednesday, September 3, though not without a promise that the order of conditions needed for the project to move forward would be completed by Friday, September 5. The order of conditions usually takes two weeks to write.
If approved, the project will provide 20,000 cubic yards of sand to the beach from the dredging of Great Harbor in Woods Hole. The dredging is necessary to deepen and widen the channel for a new research vessel, R/V Henry B. Bigelow, purchased by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration. NOAA is funding the $2.3 million project.
The Army Corps of Engineers will oversee the dredging while the Bigelow is docked in Rhode Island.
Because NOAA is a federal agency, the dredging of Great Harbor is exempt from permitting under sovereign immunity, but in order to transfer the sand to Menauhant Beach, the town needs the conservation commission’s approval.
The process of coordinating the project among all the federal, state, and local agencies involved has taken more than a year.
At Wednesday’s meeting, some commission members complained that new information for the application had just been turned in earlier that night. But project representative M. Leslie Fields of the Woods Hole Group said that it was a “monumental effort” to compile the information, because it involved three to four different agencies.
She said that NOAA is eager to move the project forward and the state wants to have local approval as soon as possible, so it can solicit bids for the contract.
If the project is not approved, the dredged sand will be dumped in Rhode Island Sound, she said.
The dredging of Great Harbor is slated to take place between October 1 and January 15, and once started would take 15 to 20 days to complete, Ms. Fields said.
The material dredged from Great Harbor will be hauled by the Army Corps to Menauhant Beach and dumped at a site 2,200 feet offshore, Ms. Fields said. As each load of sand is dumped, the county dredge will pump it onto the west side of beach.
Approximately 12,000 cubic yards of sand will be used to replenish the dunes, while the rest will be used over the beach, Ms. Fields said.
The offshore area where the sand will be dumped has been identified by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries as a bay scallop habitat, Ms. Fields said, though during a site visit with Falmouth’s Department of Natural Resources they found only remnants of shells.
To minimize adverse affects to the potential scallop population, she said, the county dredge operator will work closely with the operator of the dredge in Great Harbor to quickly remove the material from the area as it arrives, and will also avoid overdredging and disturbing the sea floor.
They will also perform a “shellfish relay” before the project begins under the supervision of the town’s shellfish constable, she said. That process involves removing any shellfish found in the four-acre area off the beach, then sorting and counting them. The scallops that are not mature enough for harvest will be moved to another suitable habitat, and in September 2009, the town will re-seed the area with a ratio of two seeds for every one scallop removed.
Another major concern brought up Wednesday night was that the sand could shift and smother the eelgrass not only off Menauhant Beach, but also in Bournes Pond, which commission members said is one of the town’s healthier coastal ponds. Eelgrass is prime shellfish habitat and an indicator of overall water quality.
Ms. Fields said, however, that the design of the project minimizes harm to the eelgrass, because the majority of the sand will be placed high up in the dunes. She said they plan to conduct eelgrass surveys off Menauhant and in Bournes Pond next month and again in September 2009. The data from those surveys will be used to determine whether dredging to remove sand is necessary in those waterways.
Because the nourishment is taking place in cooler months, Ms. Fields said the dunes would not be replanted until March, raising concerns among commission members that the sand would be exposed and could shift during a storm or in the wind and clog the eelgrass beds.
“Is the town prepared to deal with the consequences of eelgrass restoration and the dredging of Bournes Pond?” asked commission member Peter L. Waasdorp Jr.
“The town is committed to keeping that entrance channel open,” Ms. Fields replied, adding that the town maintains permits for any necessary dredging of Bournes Pond. She said that the town could install sand fencing to limit transfer of material, but since Menauhant Beach is a barrier beach, the fences cannot stop transfer completely. “That’s the normal process of Mother Nature,” she said.
Commission member Maureen Harlow-Hawkes said that she was concerned that “some poor department” would end up paying for additional mitigation resulting from sand transfer, which could “create an unhealthy waterway.”
“I don’t want to make a snap judgement, then later think, ‘Was it worth it?’ ” Ms. Harlow-Hawkes said.
Ms. Fields said that the Falmouth Waterways Committee’s current budget includes funding for dredging and the town would likely be able to get grant money, if eelgrass restoration is necessary.
Beach Superintendent Donald L. Hoffer added that the project has received attention from “the highest level of town government” and would not be left hanging for funding. “It’s not just the beach committee and ConCom,” he said. 
While commission member Elizabeth H. Gladfelter agreed that there were “lots of positives” to the project, “our responsibility is the effect on the environment.”
That position was echoed by Crowell Road resident David S. Thomas, who said that he supports “anything to make Menauhant Beach the type of beach it was a long time ago,” but said he is “worried about the impact on the pond.”
In a letter of support for the project submitted to the commission, coastal marine scientist S. Jeffress Williams, of Alder Lane in North Falmouth, wrote that Ms. Field’s “report was outstanding in making the argument that this project’s benefits to Falmouth and the environmental resources far outweigh the risks and potential adverse outcomes.”
And Christine Ross, president and CEO of the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce, which has pushed for beach nourishment to improve Falmouth’s coastline, urged the commission to “take a chance.”
Commission member Edward H. Schmitt tried to do just that when he made a motion to close the hearing, saying, “I think all the real issues have been addressed,” but he was the only one to vote affirmatively.
The commission asked Ms. Field to return on September 3 to address a list of concerns, sand compatibility, the cost of eelgrass restoration, and a table of responsibility, for the project.