Avalon Plans Backpassing Project

AVALON – Once again Mother Nature has played havoc with Avalon’s northern-most beaches. At its March 13 meeting, Borough Council heard from borough Engineer Thomas Thornton about north-end beach erosion, especially in the area from 11th to 15th streets.
One beach path has already been closed and one is in danger of a similar action.
According to Thornton, the borough needs to move about 50,000 cubic yards of sand from the borrow area around 35th Street to the eroded areas. Once again timing has eliminated the potential use of the more southern borrow area since the trucks that do the work are not allowed on borough streets and must maneuver along the beach front.
Between the southern borrow area and the impacted beaches; there is a piping plover natural area that trucks are not allowed to disturb.
The plan calls for the project to begin in April, earlier than the borough normally likes to start such a project. An early backpassing exposes the newly restored beaches to potential damage from spring storms prior to the Memorial Day Weekend.
Borough council heard that many other area towns have followed Avalon’s example and initiated backpassing projects in years with no federal hydraulic replenishment, making the heavy equipment needed difficult to rent.
The equipment was unavailable in May when the borough would have preferred to do the project.  
The borough will once again have to apply for an emergency permit, but Thornton said he was confident one would be issued.
The state Department of Environmental Protection requires two permits, effectively charging a fee for both the borrowing of sand at one location and for redistributing the sand on the eroded beaches. The borough has submitted a rules change request asking that the process be changed to allow the unified project to proceed under one permit with one fee.
In the past, residents living in the homes along the north borrow area have objected to having their beaches impacted by the back passing projects.  After the first such project, the borough has tried to keep the sand removal as much as possible limited to the surf zone, taking from the slope and not the beach. 
Thornton said this year’s project would again focus on the areas as close to the waterline as possible.
Business Administrator Scott Wahl also announced that Avalon and Stone Harbor would be included in a scheduled hydraulic replenishment project to be conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers sometime between the end of the 2019 summer season and the start of the 2020 season. Specific dates were unavailable.