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Two coastal municipalities in Cape May County say storms and erosion that seriously damaged their beaches have them planning to partner on a massive sand replenishment project in the spring.

Avalon and Sea Isle City are preparing for an estimated $10 million beach fill without the promise of state or federal aid, the mayors of both municipalities said Tuesday.

"We have to start the process now," Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi said. "We can't fool around and wait for next spring. If we got back-to-back storms in the spring, we would probably lose some of that dune system."

"We lost quite a bit of sand in the north end before the storm that hit two weeks ago. Then we really got clobbered in that storm," he said.

Both towns will need to approve interlocal agreements for the project, which is expected to take place in the spring. The work could potentially involve 1.3 million cubic yards of sand.

Avalon and Sea Isle City, which sit on opposite sides of Townsends Inlet, want to split the cost of mobilizing the dredge, which is among the most expensive parts of a beach fill.

Avalon wants 600,000 cubic yards of sand on north-end beaches from Ninth to 26th streets. Sea Isle City wants 700,000 cubic yards for its southern beaches from 73rd to 93rd streets.

Pagliughi said he expects the project to cost each town more than $4 million. The towns will try to seek state or federal funding reimbursement, he said.

"This is probably one of the largest ones that we're undertaking," Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio said. "And we're undertaking it at the time knowing the state of New Jersey has no money."

The municipalities are in a frequent tug-of-war with the Atlantic Ocean, which can eat into their beaches and potentially the dunes that protect the town.

In the summer, Sea Isle City received part of a beach fill - funded by the state Department of Environmental Protection and the city - to pump about 400,000 cubic yards on beaches in the north end and on downtown beaches.

Desiderio said that beach fill did not address the city's south end.

Earlier this year, Avalon received funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stock sand on beaches between Ninth and 18th streets by using trucks to deliver sand.

Pagliughi called that work, "A Band-Aid."

Meanwhile, hydrologists are studying the "borrow site" at Townsends Inlet to determine how much sand a dredge can remove from the area, Pagliughi said.

The scope of a beach fill may depend on how much available sand can be removed there, he said.

A survey of Townsends Inlet in the summer estimated a little more than 1 million cubic yards of sand could be taken, but Pagliughi said major storms tend build up more sand in that zone.

Contact Brian Ianieri:

609-463-6713

BIanieri@pressofac.com

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