Northern Ocean beaches face roaring storm season without new protective sand. Here's why
TOMS RIVER - Residents in Ortley Beach, Mantoloking and Bay Head are facing another winter storm season without beach replenishment, as a project to nourish northern Ocean County's barrier island beaches is not likely to happen before spring.
Toms River Mayor Maurice B. "Mo" Hill Jr. said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is likely to go out to bid on the project this fall, with a contract awarded by December. That means beach replenishment probably won't happen before late winter or early spring.
Hill said the dune work is desperately needed; even though last winter's storm season was relatively minor, the township was once again forced to pay $305,000 to put more sand on Ortley's beaches before the Memorial Day start of the tourist season. A lack of snowfall last winter meant the township was able to use snow removal funds to pay for the beach replenishment.
Repairing erosion in Ortley has become a yearly task for the township. Last year, Vulcan Construction group was paid more than $240,000 to fix dunes, while in 2021, Earle was paid $430,000 to restore damage caused by a couple of fierce nor'easter storms. Ortley Beach was built on the site of an old inlet — Cranberry Inlet — which closed during a storm in the early 19th century.
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"Not only is our beach getting narrower and narrower, but the last two to three weeks, we have had a two- to three-foot drop," to the beach from the dune line, Ocean Terrace resident Debra Martin told Hill and the township council at a recent meeting.
The Army Corps finished a nearly $130 million, 14-mile-long beach replenishment project in northern Ocean County in 2019. The project added sand to beaches in areas that took the brunt of Superstorm Sandy's record-setting surge. Areas of northern Ocean's barrier island were badly damaged by Sandy, with every house in Mantoloking suffering some storm damage; 200 homes in Ortley were washed away the night in October 2012 when Sandy struck.
As part of that project, the corps agreed to return to the area to make repairs for 50 years on a regular basis, and on an emergent basis after severe storms.
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Dunes and wider beaches provide a buffer for oceanfront homes and businesses during storms, helping to protect property from pounding waves. While the dune line has been damaged several times, there have been no breaches in Ortley or other parts of the northern Ocean barrier island, which could have allowed ocean water to reach homes and businesses.
The 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $30.2 million in federal money for beach nourishment work between the Manasquan and Barnegat inlets, which adds sand to local dunes and beaches. That was about half the estimated cost of the work. The state and Ocean County are covering the remainder of the cost.
After it rejected the initial round of bids for being too high, the Army Corps of Engineers received a bid protest, or an official challenge, because the agency did not award a contract for the work. The low bidder, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office in May.
That protest was dismissed on June 15.
"The Army Corps is diligently working through contractual processes, but we do not have a timeline to share at this time. We hope to have more information and a firmer timeline soon," said Steve Rochette, spokesman for the Army Corps' Philadelphia district.
Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 39 years. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Northern Ocean County beach replenishment delayed by court case
