Avalon's 22nd Street Beach facing south/Scott Wahl

AVALON — Beaches here from 18th Street to 24th Street are expected to receive sand from a back-passing operation this winter.

The project involves scraping sand up to a maximum of two feet deep in two borrow areas south of 32nd Street, said Borough Engineer Tom Thornton, of Hatch Mott McDonald, at a Wed., Dec. 14 Borough Council work session.

North borrow areas between 32nd Street and 38th Street and between 38th Street and 60th Street are in a Piping Plover protected zone where no sand can be removed, he said.
Thornton said sand could be scraped from 60th Street to 71st Street to be applied to other beaches. An Army Corps designed beach begins at 71st Street where no sand can be removed.

Council introduced a bond ordinance for the beach project appropriating $800,000, authorizing the issuance of $720,000 in bonds. Borough Administrator Andy Bednarek said the ordinance made be paid off in five years and may not need permanent financing.

Thornton said the project is simple, scraping sand into berms, loading off-road dump trucks with an excavator and moving sand up and down the beach to where it is needed.

“We’ve estimated a construction cost of $470,000,” said Thornton. “That would get you 60,000 cubic yards (of sand).”

He said Avalon has been pursuing “pan scraping” of beaches for several years. The Army Corps of Engineers conducted a large feasibility study of back-passing, said Thornton.
Beaches that need back-passing include an area from 24th Street to 18th Street.

“It has become the focal point of the energy from the waves in the last several years,” said Thornton.

He said it would be a rather small project in contrast to sand pumping from a dredge.

The borough had hoped to undertake the project last January and February but did not have permits, said Thornton. Initially it seemed the permitting process would be simple but U.S Fish and Wildlife Service became involved due to the possibility of Piping Plover nests, he said.
Thornton said he was fighting some “extremely onerous” requirements Fish and Wildlife suggested that would become conditions of receiving permits for the back-passing.

Fish and Wildlife issued a “biological opinion,” which contained a list of 20 conservation measures. One measure required an analysis of grain size of sand which may not be suitable for the prey the Piping Plover would feed upon, he said.
Thornton said he opposed that measure. Fish and Wildlife also requested samples of invertebrates and an archeological investigation.
Additional surveys and drafting are necessary due to the involvement of Fish and Wildlife, he said.

“Every 200 feet, we have to painstakingly survey this so the contractor knows how deep he can go,” said Thornton.

Beach work must be completed by March 14, 2012. The southerly borrow area has a deadline of Feb. 29 because after that date, dump trucks will not be able to drive through the protected zone, said Thornton.
He proposed the borough advertise for bids Jan. 6, 2012, receive bids on Jan. 20, award a contract by Jan. 25 and issue a notice to proceed by Feb. 1.

Without the beach project, at the current rate of erosion, Thornton said the area from 18th to 24th streets may not “have much of a beach at all” next summer especially after winter storms.
Thornton said such as project has never been done nationwide, in particular, dealing with Piping Plovers. He said Cape May is currently receiving a back-passing project.