U.S. Army Corps rejects plan to build storm surge barriers
PHILADELPHIA — Rather than build large storm surge barriers in three locations statewide, a draft report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is recommending elevating more than 6,000 homes and 279 public safety and medical facilities.
The Army Corps released a draft report for the New Jersey Back Bays Coastal Storm Risk Management Study outlining an updated plan that includes the elevation of about 6,400 residential structures; flood-proofing 279 critical infrastructure facilities (police, fire, ambulance, hospitals); and the implementation of nature-based solutions (using dredged material to enhance 217 acres of salt marsh habitat vulnerable to sea level change at seven locations in the back bay area).
The Army Corps, in partnership with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), is conducting the feasibility study within the New Jersey back bay area, defined as the network of interconnected tidal water bodies located landward of the ocean coastline in Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, Burlington and Cape May counties. The study area includes about 950 square miles and nearly 3,400 miles of shoreline across 89 municipalities.
The objective is to investigate problems and solutions to reduce damage from coastal storm-related flooding that affects population, critical infrastructure, property and ecosystems. Engineering and economic analyses indicate the study area could experience $2.6 billion in average annual flood damages if no action were taken.
The Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Assessment details extensive engineering, economic and environmental analyses conducted as part of the study.
Prior reports associated with the study outlined structural features, including three storm surge barriers and two cross bay barriers in addition to home elevations and flood-proofing. The study team has pivoted from this approach to introduce a different plan that is more achievable in the near-term given the extensive engineering, environmental and technical analyses still needed on the potential structural measures.
The science and engineering conducted to date on the storm surge barriers and cross-bay barriers remain valuable for a variety of purposes and can be revisited at future phases of the study.
The plan is subject to change and has not been approved by higher authorities, including Congress, and has not been funded for implementation at the federal or state level.
The previous Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement released in August 2021 recommended storm surge barriers at Manasquan Inlet, Barnegat Inlet and Great Egg Inlet along with home elevations and other features.
That was determined to be incompatible with Army Corps policy for full National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance in the feasibility phase. Therefore, storm surge barriers are no longer part of the recommended plan due to the fact that the Army Corps could not complete the necessary modeling and environmental impacts analysis of such a large feature in this study required by NEPA.
The current study recommendation outlined in the report is for home elevations, flood-proofing and nature-based solutions (NBS) for wetland restoration.
The estimated cost of construction is $7.65 billion, which includes constructing nonstructural and NBS measures along with the value of lands, easements, rights of way, relocations and disposal areas. The study is available at nap.usace.army.mil/missions/civil-works/new-jersey-back-bays-study.
The Army Corps and DEP will host a virtual public meeting using the Teams app from 6 to 7 p.m. Jan. 22 to provide additional information on the draft report and the study.
By JACK FICHTER/Cape May Star and Wave