No News From Feds on Sand for South End

Ocean City still does not know if the federal government will help fund an Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project for the southern end of the island.

Business Administrator Mike Dattilo reported to City Council and the public on Thursday that the Army Corps has not supplied to Congress a report that was due on May 1. The city hopes the report will indicate which projects will be funded and completed before summer 2014.

An Army Corps project remains the best-case scenario for Ocean City to restore eroded beaches that are worst between 49th and 59th streets — the southernmost cross-streets of the island. Even before Superstorm Sandy flattened dunes, buried streets in sand and flooded homes in October 2012, the shrinking south-end beaches disappeared at some high tides.

In an Army Corps project, the federal government pays 65 percent of the cost with the state picking up the other 35 percent. Of the state's share, Ocean City would be responsible for 25 percent. The arrangement allows Ocean City to enjoy the benefits of the ongoing project while paying just 8.75 percent of its cost.

The Army Corps returns every three years (pending approval of funding) for renourishment projects.

Dattilo said Thursday that if the city does not get a firm indication by the end of the month from the federal government that an Army Corps project is in the works, the city will pursue a project funded by the state and local governments that could be completed by summer 2014.

For summer 2013, an outside contractor is nearly finished trucking in 90,000 cubic yards of sand — triple the amount of material that's ever been moved by land to Ocean City beaches  — to beaches between 49th and 59th streets.

The trucks have been stockpiling the sand in mounds on the beach, but work crews are starting to spread the sand and will create a grade that falls 1 foot in elevation for every 30 feet of beach.

Dattilo said the new sand has a coarser grain, but he said similar projects in the past have shown that sand mixes with native material and gets bleached over time.

He also acknowledged that sand recovered from the streets in the week after Superstorm Sandy and returned to the beaches to create an emergency berm ahead of a second storm contains debris. He said crews are working to remove material from the berms by hand and will continue to do so island-wide for the entire summer.

The new sand is inspected before and after it is brought to Ocean City and does not contain foreign material, though some truckloads have included clumps of silt and clay that can appear to be brick-like.

After Dattilo's report at Thursday's meeting, City Council approved a resolution to approve a $39,427 contract with Deschamps Mats Systems of Cedar Grove for mats to provide easier beach access over the protective berms at the south end of the island. In a memo to City Council, Public Works Director Mike Rossbach said the mats were tested last summer and offer and cool and mold-resistant surface — and are both durable and easy to remove. He said the mats will be used south of 49th Street.

City Council also approved a $407,500 contract with Turfscapes LLC of Williamstown for the installation of sand fencing and dune grass throughout the island.

In an update on the progress of work an ongoing Army Corps project at the northern end of the island, Dattilo said a worst-case estimate for completion of the project is now June 15. Crews have been making good time since the dredge returned to work last week after a weather delay.