On Monday, June 3, Dare County Board of Commissioners approved a beach nourishment project for Buxton.

The $19.8 million project scheduled for 2021 will put one million cubic yards in the same nourished project area completed on February 27, 2018.

The project combines $5.8 million through Federal Emergency Management Agency for 300,000 cubic-yard sand loss during Hurricane Florence. Some 700,000 cubic yards will be pumped at a cost $14 million for maintenance nourishment. The county will issue limited obligation bonds to be paid by the Beach Nourishment Fund. The project advances the normal maintenance schedule by a year.

As part of the project, Coastal Science and Engineering proposes restoration of groins downstream of the project area. The three groins were built in 1970. The restoration is proposed to slow the migration of sand from the nourished area.

The first groin hurdle is the Division of Coastal Management rule that, if more than 50 percent of a groin is still functional, the work of a groin can be considered as “restoration” instead of a “new groin.”

The evaluate how the remaining groins are functioning, engineers and/or surveyors will visually inspect the groin, conduct an underwater study and finish with ground penetrating radar to assess the part of the groin buried in the beach. Permits would be required for the restoration from coastal management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Park Service. The shape of the restored groin would follow the beach profile, allowing some sand to bypass the groin.

Permits for the entire nourishment project could take two years to secure.

The board unanimously adopted a capital project ordinance just at $2 million for permitting and design for Coastal Science and Engineering to proceed.

Making the major presentation was Haiqing Kazckowski and answering questions was Tim Kana, both with the Coastal Science and Engineering.

Dare County could apply for federal disaster funding because the county has in place a monitoring contract with a required pre-season survey.

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