Project Background

Long Beach Island is an 18-mile barrier island in southern Ocean County, New Jersey. This area regularly suffers damages from coastal storms, hurricanes and northeasters. The project, also known as the Long Beach Island beachfill or beach nourishment, is designed to reduce erosion and property damages associated with these events.

A Feasibility Report Completed in September of 1999 recommended Beach fill with periodic nourishment to reduce potential hurricane and storm damages for the island. The project will construct a Dune with a top elevation 22 feet above sea level with a 300-400 foot wide beam, depending on the location of the beach on the island, at an elevation of 8 feet above sea level.

Thus far, the Philadelphia District has completed initial construction at Surf City and Ship Bottom in 2006; Harvey Cedars in 2010 and Brant Beach in Long Beach Township in 2012.

Background

In March of 2007 shortly after completion of the initial construction for the Barnegat Inlet to Little Egg Inlet Storm Damage Reduction project, a number of discarded military munitions were discovered on the beaches in Surf City, N.J. These World War I-era munitions had been discarded offshore and though the borrow area was screened prior to its use; munitions were inadvertently pumped onto the beach during the nourishment process. Since that experience, beachfill projects conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, (USACE) and The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, (NJDEP), have operated under the assumption that there is a reasonable probability discarded munitions may be anywhere offshore. USACE and NJDEP have implemented a precautionary screening process for all future coastal beachfill projects. The process was developed by USACE munitions specialists and implemented after careful coordination with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It has been used successfully on several other projects by the COE and NJDEP since 2007, and will be utilized during the upcoming beach nourishment at Brant Beach on Long Beach Island.

What is it?

The process involves a two-step screening of the dredged material and increased inspection with oversight from munitions experts. Dredging vessels are outfitted with special screens on the intake drag-head, or hydraulic cutter head which is the mechanism that extracts the sand off the bottom of the sea floor. These screens are sized to preclude any known explosive munitions from entering the dredge system.
In addition, as a secondary precaution before the slurry is discharged onto the beach, all material filters through a screening basket with smaller diameter openings prior to placement. As the process is taking place, specially trained inspectors from both the Corps and the NJDEP will monitor screens, baskets and all land-based operations while any material is being placed on the beach.

Has it been done before?

This process has been successfully implemented by the COE since 2007 at all beach nourishment projects throughout New Jersey and Delaware; including all the projects on Long Beach Island including the Harvey Cedars Initial construction and the most recent operation in Surf City. The NJDEP has also implemented the process on their recent projects at Ocean City, Strathmere, and North Wildwood, NJ. In all cases no munitions made it to the beaches.