USA: Town of Orleans Proposes Change to Corps Permit Request to Discharge Dredged Material for Beach Nourishment on Skaket Beach

The town of Orleans has proposed a change in its permit request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct work in waters of the United States in conjunction with beach nourishment on Skaket Beach in Orleans, Mass.

The applicant has proposed a change to the location of the sediment borrow site. All other details described in the original proposal on Feb. 1 remain the same.

The proposed work entails the discharge of dredged material for beach nourishment on an approximately 350-foot length of Skaket Beach using up to 2,000 cubic yards of sediments skimmed from the surface of nearly tidal flats. The depth of the excavation will not exceed one foot, and the maximum footprint of the borrow site will be 54,050 square feet (1.24 acres).

Skaket Beach is the town of Orleans’ only public beach on Cape Cod Bay and has been nourished for more than 25 years, both with sediment excavated from inland borrow sites and, since 1996, using sediment excavated from the nearby tidal flats. This work previously received a Department of Army permit in January 2005. Based in part on a review of historical data and a lack of potential sources of contaminants, it is the Corps’ preliminary determination that the material is acceptable for disposal at this disposal site.

The application for the federal permit was filed with the Corps of Engineers in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in United States waters, including wetlands; and with Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which provides for federal regulation of any work in, or affecting navigable waters of the United States.

[mappress]

Source: usace, February 9, 2011