Beach protection work still incomplete 3 years after Sandy

Three years after the state's most costly natural disaster, many of those beaches still are not rebuilt and the state is on the verge of taking property owners to court to get the sand-pumping started.

After Hurricane Sandy left many of New Jersey's beach communities in ruins, Gov. Chris Christie declared the need for engineered beaches for the entire Shore coastline.

Building those beaches hasn't gone smoothly, though, as several Shore towns have resisted efforts to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build wide beaches with tall, fat dunes.

Now three years after the state's most costly natural disaster, many of those beaches still are not rebuilt and the state is on the verge of taking property owners to court to get the sand-pumping started.

"It's not a matter of whether it's going to go forward. It will go forward," state Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said. "We're pulling and tugging every which way we can and we'll go to court, do whatever we have to do, to make it happen."

RELATED: Beach replenishment delays could be costly for taxpayers

To that end, Martin said the state is ready to file eminent domain claims against some 40 or 50 oceanfront property owners in Mantoloking, Brick and Toms River within the next month. The court action may also involve complaints against one or two property owners in Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head at the same time, he said.

Those are the towns where many residents have dug in their heels and refused to grant easements to the Army Corps to build the dunes. Because of that, a project that was expected to be completed by now on the northern Ocean County peninsula from Point Pleasant Beach to Berkeley Township hasn't even gone out for bid.

 

At one time, that work was expected to be done as one large project, but Martin said now he's is discussions with the Army Corps about breaking it up into two or even three smaller projects so that the towns where easements aren't an issue can get their beach replenishment as soon as possible.

Ideally, he said, the first section would include Mantoloking, Brick, the Ortley Beach and Normandy Beach sections of Toms River and Lavallette. He said he also hopes to add Seaside Heights, Seaside Park and Berkeley to that project.

Officials hope that project is put out to bid before the end of the year, and to have work start in the spring, he said.

Another project delayed because of resistance to beach replenishment is on Absecon Island, where the state tried to get easements in Margate by executive order before a federal judge ruled state officials instead had to follow the provisions of eminent domain laws. That beat-down forced the bidding process to be canceled earlier this year for work that was supposed to start in the spring for Margate and neighboring Ventnor and Longport.

The state has since filed eminent domain claims against the city for easement rights to 87 municipally owned beachfront lots. Martin said eminent domain actions against nine private-property owners in Margate should be filed within the next month. A month after that the state would be prepared to file for easements for a handful of properties in Longport, he said.

"Hopefully, by the end of November the Army Corps is ready to start rebidding that contract," Martin said. "That's what our hope is."

On Long Beach Island, the state is seeking easements from about 50 oceanfront property owners, which has delayed work in some sections of Long Beach Township. Martin said those eminent domain claims should be filed in Superior Court within the next month.

Although two dredges are working on the island, no replenishment has occurred in parts of Beach Haven and in the Loveladies section of Long Beach Township because of holdouts. Replenishment of the Holgate a section of Long Beach Township that took a beating during Sandy, is expected to occur this winter. Sand for that project will come from the dredging of the Little Egg Inlet at the southern end of the island, Martin said.

RELATED: Beach replenishment project scrapped for now in Margate

Replenishment of Ocean City beaches is completed, although some spots have to be repaired after a fierce nor'easter earlier this month, Martin said. Work at Strathmere is also completed and replenishment of beaches in the southern end of Sea Isle City is just about completed.

In Monmouth County, nearly all of the beaches - stretching from Sea Bright to Manasquan - were replenished after Hurricane Sandy.

The last of the work was done in Loch Arbour, Allenhurst and southern Deal, towns that had never before had replenishment.  The second phase of that work - from Philips Avenue in northern Deal to Lake Takanassee in the Elberon section of Long Branch - is set to start before the end of this year

Since early this year, attorneys for the state had threatened eminent domain filings were imminent, but the first large batch - in Margate - wasn't filed until early October.

Martin said that was because state officials underestimated the complexity of the appraisals, which required reams of documentation.

Under eminent domain regulations, the state or a municipality is required to pay fair market value for the easement rights, which is based on an appraisal. A property owner can contest the amount and the appraisal to a panel of commissioners. If still not satisfied, the owner can take the matter to Superior Court. But during the entire process, the governing body gets the easement right.