Time Is Of The Essence For Beach Nourishment Project

     State and local officials gathered at Falmouth Town Hall and then at Menauhant Beach yesterday to discuss a major beach nourishment project that requires such a tight time frame that any minor delays will derail the project entirely.
     Among those in attendance were several representatives from the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce, which has pushed hard for beach nourishment to improve the town’s shoreline.
     The plan, soon to be under review by state, federal, and local regulators, is to use dredging material from Great Harbor in Woods Hole and barge it to Menauhant Beach in East Falmouth. The material will need to be dropped on the bottom of the sea floor and then, soon after, the county barge will be used to pump the material up onto the beach.
     The consulting firm, the Woods Hole Group, is working with the town to develop a plan for the dredging. Assistant Town Manager Heather B. Harper said the town has been working on the project for close to two years. At this point, with the dredging part of the project set to take place in the fall, the town has little time to get all of its permits in order for the beach nourishment part of the project.
     “We are relying on an expedited permitting process,” Ms. Harper said. “We need assistance from the regulatory agencies to make sure the application doesn’t sit on someone’s desk.”
     Ms. Harper said the town is anxious to hear comments from regulators on what they think of the project. “We’re at a critical point now,” she said.
     Regulators from the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Marine Fisheries, and Coastal Zone Management were all in attendance. Also at the meeting was John Moakley of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is the lead agency on the dredging project. The dredging will make it possible to fit the Henry B. Bigelow, a new $60 million fisheries research vessel, into Great Harbor to use NOAA’s docking facility in Woods Hole.
     There were representatives from the Falmouth Beach Committee, the Falmouth Department of Natural Resources, and the Falmouth Conservation Commission.
     One of the biggest issues, according to Robert Hamilton Jr., a coastal engineer who is also vice president of business development for the Woods Hole Group, is to make sure the project does not impact the eelgrass that is growing off the coast of Menauhant Beach. Divers, including Falmouth Department of Natural Resources Assistant Director R. Charles Martinsen III, surveyed the area this past Monday and established where the largest pockets of eelgrass are. Eelgrass offers both habitat, food, and protection for marine life.
     Mr. Martinsen, who is also the town’s shellfish warden, said among his concerns is protecting the town’s shellfish resources inside Bournes Pond and also making sure not to block the inlet into Bournes Pond, which cuts through the middle of Menauhant Beach.
     Mr. Hamilton said all of those factors will be taken into account. The way the project has been designed is to take 20,000 cubic yards of clean and beach-compatible sand and place it on parts of the beach, mainly the western end that will enhance the dunes and restore the beach.
     “If we can’t design the project with the confidence that there will not be significant damage to eelgrass, I don’t see it happening,” he said.
     Restoring eelgrass beds would cost about $100,000 per acre, Mr. Martinsen said. “It is extremely expensive.”
     Mr. Hamilton said the budget for the project is so tight that if any mitigation with a large price tag is required by governmental agencies, the project will not be able to go forward.
     The town will need to get six major permits from regulatory agencies in order to go forward with the project. Getting the permits within six months will be a major challenge,” Mr. Hamilton said.
     “There’s really no time for issues,” Mr. Hamilton said. “If there are issues, maybe we can’t take advantage of this opportunity.”
     In that case, the 20,000 cubic yards of dredge material that the town wants will be deposited in Rhode Island Sound along with the rest of the dredge material, another 100,000 cubic yards.