Yikes!
Even I did not think the Plum Island Foundation/Newbury would be so bold as to proceed with beach scraping sans the proper permits.
But, as Councillor Tom Jones always says, it's better to beg for forgiveness than to ask permission. And probably nothing will happen, punishment-wise, to the perps.
Just a few weeks ago, I was talking to someone whose parent owns a large home perched on the dune in Newbury. I was trying to make excuses for them - "but they probably did not know the environmental impact on having a house on the dune," or words to that effect.
"No, they knew," was his response.
Ah.
I was not quite sure if he was trying to say his parent did not care, or that he was defending the parent against the perceived label of ignorance. Whatever.
Read more here.
Showing posts with label beach erosion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach erosion. Show all posts
Friday, January 21, 2011
Monday, December 6, 2010
"Concern, but not alarm"
I hate to say it, but .... there ya go. The beach nourishment appears to be not as effective as it was hoped it would be.
Is that phrased diplomatically enough?
I like the disparity in the estimates of loss. My old pal Newbury Selectman Vincent Russo says 10% and Conservation Agent Doug Packer says as much as 30%.
But this is my favorite quote, from PITA President Ron Barrett: "I think it will last the winter," he said. "It all depends on how many storms we have."
I like Ron - he returns my phone calls - but ... Ummm, wasn't it supposed to last 5 years, or so?
The story does not reference how much the project cost us taxpayers ($5.5 mil). Of course, some of that was for dredging the channel alone.
Further, the "concern, but not alarm" was expressed by a resident, not anyone "official."
I bet plenty of people are alarmed.
Is that phrased diplomatically enough?
Estimates of the loss range from less than 10 percent to as much as a third of the approximately 120,000 cubic yards of sand deposited along 2,500 feet of shoreline in October by a dredging company under contract to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Daily News)
I like the disparity in the estimates of loss. My old pal Newbury Selectman Vincent Russo says 10% and Conservation Agent Doug Packer says as much as 30%.
But this is my favorite quote, from PITA President Ron Barrett: "I think it will last the winter," he said. "It all depends on how many storms we have."
I like Ron - he returns my phone calls - but ... Ummm, wasn't it supposed to last 5 years, or so?
The story does not reference how much the project cost us taxpayers ($5.5 mil). Of course, some of that was for dredging the channel alone.
Further, the "concern, but not alarm" was expressed by a resident, not anyone "official."
I bet plenty of people are alarmed.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
"Beach Bummer"
It's comforting to know that even the big ole news outlets mess up ... the video in this report on Channel 7 is of the beach nourishment on the Newbury beach, not the Newburyport beach ... and I think it was $75,000, but that was with the city's match ...
Loved the title "Beach Bummer," though. Someone's been watching "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."
Read more here, from the Daily News.
Loved the title "Beach Bummer," though. Someone's been watching "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."
Read more here, from the Daily News.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Message from Sen. Tarr re: beach scraping
To: Interested Parties
From: Senator Bruce Tarr
Re: Meeting to Address Beach Scraping Report
Since elements of the recently developed report of available information on beach scraping have become known and/or publicized, the need to address this report in a focused meeting dedicated to this subject has become clear. Thus, that meeting will occur as follows:Date: Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Place: PITA Hall, PI
This meeting will be an opportunity for all of us to discuss the report with such state officials as Deerin Babb-Brott and Undersecretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Philip Griffiths. It is important that we confront any issues with the report directly, rather than allow them to fester and predominate over the many other issues we must deal with (dredging project, etc.) in a timely fashion.
We must also place the report into context, and understand that it does not constitute a ruling on the scraping project we have proposed, but is rather a compilation of scientific information that can and will be used to evaluate our proposal, and potentially aid in its design and approval criteria.
In order to ensure informed and engaging public discussion on these subjects, I am attaching to this memo a copy of the report, and the Town of Newbury has posted this report on its web site also.
My goal is for us to engage fully in discussing and understanding this report for what it is, and to have the meeting with a clear sense of direction about how we are going to proceed on this topic of beach scraping. Doing so is not only important to the success of any possible scraping project, but also to being able to move ahead with the critical “204” dredging project without unnecessary distraction.
I urge all interested parties to attend and participate in this meeting, and to be prepared to discuss how we might proceed in the collaborative way that has brought us so far on the beach.
Cynthia L. Lewis
Director of Intergovernmental Relations and Special Projects
Office of Senator Bruce E. Tarr
Monday, April 26, 2010
Beach stuff from City Council
The City Council earlier tonight passed spending $25,000 from the Harbormaster enterprise account to match a state DCR grant for erosion control on the Newburyport part of the Plum Island beach - which, by the way is private property.
This caused a certain boat-owning, fee-paying Councillor to later say, "What the ...?"
Well, that might not be exactly what he said, but that's essentially what he meant.
The Council did NOT approve a $15,000 transfer from the free cash account to cover design and permitting costs for said erosion control measures. That money would be taxpayer money, as opposed to the Harbormaster money, which is paid mostly by ... a certain segment of taxpayers. But it's not a tax; it's a fee.
It's what boat owners pay for the privilege of keeping a boat in Newburyport.
The city has 3 enterprise accounts - the Harbormaster and the water and sewer departments. They are self-sufficient in that they operate only on fees they collect. And I guess that's only fair, since as a non-property owner, I don't pay property taxes but I do use the toilet in this cottage, take showers and .... buy bottled water.
And as Councillor Brian Derrivan noted, he has a homeowner in his ward (5) that, due to a mistake by the city regarding an improperly maintained drainage system, has apparently cost the homeowner a chunk of change ($55,000) to mitigate water flowing into the basement of their home.
"Where is my $55,000 for my constituent because of our mistake?" he asked right before voting "no" to put the money into the beach (along with Cronin and Jones).
If you're at all interested, go into the Planning Dept. and look at the map of the Newburyport beach that shows which part is owned by DCR and which is owned by Newburyport. There's just that one little portion, right before the Newbury town line, that is not owned by DCR - you know, where the city let people build houses on the dune and where there is now erosion.
The Council also authorized a letter to be sent to U.S. senators John Kerry and Scott Brown and U.S. Rep. John Tierney urging them to "petition the Army Corps of Engineers to set as a priority the expeditious repair of the Newburyport Harbor jetties in order to save the barrier island and its rich history and to set as a priority the lives and safety of people enjoying our coastal waterways and beaches."
This caused a certain boat-owning, fee-paying Councillor to later say, "What the ...?"
Well, that might not be exactly what he said, but that's essentially what he meant.
The Council did NOT approve a $15,000 transfer from the free cash account to cover design and permitting costs for said erosion control measures. That money would be taxpayer money, as opposed to the Harbormaster money, which is paid mostly by ... a certain segment of taxpayers. But it's not a tax; it's a fee.
It's what boat owners pay for the privilege of keeping a boat in Newburyport.
The city has 3 enterprise accounts - the Harbormaster and the water and sewer departments. They are self-sufficient in that they operate only on fees they collect. And I guess that's only fair, since as a non-property owner, I don't pay property taxes but I do use the toilet in this cottage, take showers and .... buy bottled water.
And as Councillor Brian Derrivan noted, he has a homeowner in his ward (5) that, due to a mistake by the city regarding an improperly maintained drainage system, has apparently cost the homeowner a chunk of change ($55,000) to mitigate water flowing into the basement of their home.
"Where is my $55,000 for my constituent because of our mistake?" he asked right before voting "no" to put the money into the beach (along with Cronin and Jones).
If you're at all interested, go into the Planning Dept. and look at the map of the Newburyport beach that shows which part is owned by DCR and which is owned by Newburyport. There's just that one little portion, right before the Newbury town line, that is not owned by DCR - you know, where the city let people build houses on the dune and where there is now erosion.
The Council also authorized a letter to be sent to U.S. senators John Kerry and Scott Brown and U.S. Rep. John Tierney urging them to "petition the Army Corps of Engineers to set as a priority the expeditious repair of the Newburyport Harbor jetties in order to save the barrier island and its rich history and to set as a priority the lives and safety of people enjoying our coastal waterways and beaches."
Friday, April 9, 2010
Beach update (Newburyport)
It appears that the $25,000 match for that DCR grant to NBPT for the nourishment project will come from the Harbormaster Enterprise Account. There's a request in to the City Council to approve transfer of the funds.
The account has $368,342 in it ... enterprise accounts are ones that support themselves through fees and rates.
The transfer is in for approval (as opposed to going to a committee). DCR (which owns the beach) will cough up $50,000 for the project.
AND it appears that another $44,750 is coming out of the account to buy a Beach Tech beach cleaning machine. Hmmm, it says in the supporting documentation for the transfer that the quote was only good until March 31 ...
An additional $15,000 for engineering and design costs for the nourishment project are in for transfer out of the city's Free Cash account.
The account has $368,342 in it ... enterprise accounts are ones that support themselves through fees and rates.
The transfer is in for approval (as opposed to going to a committee). DCR (which owns the beach) will cough up $50,000 for the project.
AND it appears that another $44,750 is coming out of the account to buy a Beach Tech beach cleaning machine. Hmmm, it says in the supporting documentation for the transfer that the quote was only good until March 31 ...
An additional $15,000 for engineering and design costs for the nourishment project are in for transfer out of the city's Free Cash account.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Guest post: "Green irony, in faux green Newburyport" by M. Cook
Shortly before I left Costa Rica, La Nacion, the country's daily paper of record, published an account of a study conducted by the office of the Costa Rican presidency and the University of Costa Rica, in concert with a team of British climatologists and biologists.
The study found that 90% of Costa Ricans not only believe climate change, global warming, and the rapid rate of bio-diversity loss, are real, but that human activities since the dawn of the Industrial Age are key factors in processes and changes in the global environment that, if left unaddressed, could make much of the world not only unsustainable, but uninhabitable in the not too distant future.
As I read the story, I thought, "Man, if only 90% of Americans believed the science, we might be able to stem this rising tide of environmental degradation, geographic destruction, and human suffering before it's too late."
But, alas, the number of Americans who believe we are facing a largely man made global environmental and ecological disaster of unprecedented proportions is much less than 90% - much, much, less.
But back to the 90% of Costa Ricans who've accepted reality, and the science behind it.
I believe Ticos are way ahead of Americans on this issue because many, if not most, still live in much closer contact with the land and the environment than the vast majority of Americans, whether those Americans believe climate change is real or not.
Ticos are living and seeing the changes first hand, as is everyone living in a sub-tropical climate, whether they want to admit it or not.
Many species of plants and animals are disappearing at an alarming rate, even in Costa Rica - a land perceived by many upscale, faux green Americans as some kind of environmental Mecca. I'll leave dispelling that delusion for another column.
All of Central America is in the midst of a devastating, prolonged drought that, as my 90 year old , Afro-Jamaican, friend George Hansel says, "Is not just 'bout weather man, it's 'bout climate. I live here almost one hundred years, in the last twenty half my land been taken by the sea. The sea is rising. Any man who say no, is a fool."
I told George about Plum Island.
He shook his head and said, "Them Americans are damned fools. More money than sense to build million dollar homes so close to the sea. From what you tell me Mr. Mike, soon much of that island be gone."
The prolonged drought and rising land surface temperatures in Central America destroyed more than 40% of Costa Rica's domestic rice crop this year, 80% of Guatemala's corn and bean crop, and the UN specialist for food security in Central America recently warned if the extended drought does not soon end, entire regions of Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras could be facing wide spread famine later in the year.
Such dramatic climate change trends are, by no means, limited to Central America.
But still, far too many Americans continue to drink the denial Kool-Aid the fossil fuel industry serves up because they don't see, or choose not to see, the changes happening all around them.
To them I say, "Think rising sea temps and levels at Plum Island, along with the increasing frequency of severe, beach eroding storms, and the early ice melt and rising water temperatures at Lake Winnipesaukee".
But even among those who claim to believe climate change is real and want to do something done about it, my first few days back in Newburyport left me convinced they, to paraphrase NY Times columnist Tom Friedman, aren't really serious about a "green revolution", they are more interested in a "green party".
Talking green, as Friedman points out in his compelling book, Hot,Flat, and Crowded, is all the rage in many hip and trendy, upscale, liberal, bourgeois bohemian circles in the US right now, but very few of those "greenies" are really waging a "green revolution", at the individual, communal, or national levels. A true "green revolution", as Friedman points out far more eloquently than I ever could, will demand a complete overhaul of how we've lived our lives and structured our society to date.
Anyone who doubts that assertion needs only to walk through the South End of this supposed "green" and environmentally conscious community and count the number of oversized, gas guzzling, Status Utility Vehicles on the streets, with more than a few of them sporting bumper stickers proclaiming their owners' concerns about the environment.
Um, can we call such vehicles what they really are - "Big time, rolling contradictions?
We are rapidly running out of time to, as Friedman puts its, "...manage the unavoidable and avoid the unmanageable", in relation to what awaits the human race as a result of climate change, global warming, and biodiversity loss.
What I saw on my morning walk that first day back in town, convinced me that well educated, perhaps even overly educated, upscale, politically liberal, SUV driving, faux green, bourgeois bohemians, really are more concerned with a "green party" than they are a "green revolution", and that it's people like my old friend George Hansel, a man who never graduated from high school and still lives very close to the earth, who really grasps the enormity of the challenges we are facing and the enormity of the changes we are going to have to make if we are to have any hope of, "managing the unavoidable, and avoiding the unmanageable".
How ironic is that?
Michael Cook
5 Horton Street
Nbpt & PV de Limon, Costa Rica
The study found that 90% of Costa Ricans not only believe climate change, global warming, and the rapid rate of bio-diversity loss, are real, but that human activities since the dawn of the Industrial Age are key factors in processes and changes in the global environment that, if left unaddressed, could make much of the world not only unsustainable, but uninhabitable in the not too distant future.
As I read the story, I thought, "Man, if only 90% of Americans believed the science, we might be able to stem this rising tide of environmental degradation, geographic destruction, and human suffering before it's too late."
But, alas, the number of Americans who believe we are facing a largely man made global environmental and ecological disaster of unprecedented proportions is much less than 90% - much, much, less.
But back to the 90% of Costa Ricans who've accepted reality, and the science behind it.
I believe Ticos are way ahead of Americans on this issue because many, if not most, still live in much closer contact with the land and the environment than the vast majority of Americans, whether those Americans believe climate change is real or not.
Ticos are living and seeing the changes first hand, as is everyone living in a sub-tropical climate, whether they want to admit it or not.
Many species of plants and animals are disappearing at an alarming rate, even in Costa Rica - a land perceived by many upscale, faux green Americans as some kind of environmental Mecca. I'll leave dispelling that delusion for another column.
All of Central America is in the midst of a devastating, prolonged drought that, as my 90 year old , Afro-Jamaican, friend George Hansel says, "Is not just 'bout weather man, it's 'bout climate. I live here almost one hundred years, in the last twenty half my land been taken by the sea. The sea is rising. Any man who say no, is a fool."
I told George about Plum Island.
He shook his head and said, "Them Americans are damned fools. More money than sense to build million dollar homes so close to the sea. From what you tell me Mr. Mike, soon much of that island be gone."
The prolonged drought and rising land surface temperatures in Central America destroyed more than 40% of Costa Rica's domestic rice crop this year, 80% of Guatemala's corn and bean crop, and the UN specialist for food security in Central America recently warned if the extended drought does not soon end, entire regions of Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras could be facing wide spread famine later in the year.
Such dramatic climate change trends are, by no means, limited to Central America.
But still, far too many Americans continue to drink the denial Kool-Aid the fossil fuel industry serves up because they don't see, or choose not to see, the changes happening all around them.
To them I say, "Think rising sea temps and levels at Plum Island, along with the increasing frequency of severe, beach eroding storms, and the early ice melt and rising water temperatures at Lake Winnipesaukee".
But even among those who claim to believe climate change is real and want to do something done about it, my first few days back in Newburyport left me convinced they, to paraphrase NY Times columnist Tom Friedman, aren't really serious about a "green revolution", they are more interested in a "green party".
Talking green, as Friedman points out in his compelling book, Hot,Flat, and Crowded, is all the rage in many hip and trendy, upscale, liberal, bourgeois bohemian circles in the US right now, but very few of those "greenies" are really waging a "green revolution", at the individual, communal, or national levels. A true "green revolution", as Friedman points out far more eloquently than I ever could, will demand a complete overhaul of how we've lived our lives and structured our society to date.
Anyone who doubts that assertion needs only to walk through the South End of this supposed "green" and environmentally conscious community and count the number of oversized, gas guzzling, Status Utility Vehicles on the streets, with more than a few of them sporting bumper stickers proclaiming their owners' concerns about the environment.
Um, can we call such vehicles what they really are - "Big time, rolling contradictions?
We are rapidly running out of time to, as Friedman puts its, "...manage the unavoidable and avoid the unmanageable", in relation to what awaits the human race as a result of climate change, global warming, and biodiversity loss.
What I saw on my morning walk that first day back in town, convinced me that well educated, perhaps even overly educated, upscale, politically liberal, SUV driving, faux green, bourgeois bohemians, really are more concerned with a "green party" than they are a "green revolution", and that it's people like my old friend George Hansel, a man who never graduated from high school and still lives very close to the earth, who really grasps the enormity of the challenges we are facing and the enormity of the changes we are going to have to make if we are to have any hope of, "managing the unavoidable, and avoiding the unmanageable".
How ironic is that?
Michael Cook
5 Horton Street
Nbpt & PV de Limon, Costa Rica
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The beach today
In the second photo, you can see (as Newbury's conservation agent Doug Packer noted on Friday) that there is accretion of sand north of the center 'groin.' And the hay bales are holding up, although there was more sand around them on Friday.
Friday, March 26, 2010
The beach w/hay bales
Click on the image for a better view. This was this morning, right before the Beach Alliance meeting and at high tide. Speaking of Beach Alliance meeting, finally people are talking about Newburyport!Of course, it's mostly about how most of the houses in the eroded area (of Newburyport) are not in a state of emergency. Our Ward 1 councillor, Allison Heartquist, questioned the criteria for "emergency" and the use of the word "time" to do stuff. She was kicking some butt (most politely, too); it was pretty cool.
"We don't have time; we don't know what time is; or how to define time ... Why can't we get emergency certification for these homeowners?"
The city got a $75,000 partnership grant from DCR for beach issues. That means we have to come up with $25,000.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Newbury gets emergency certification
In case you missed it, here is the video from Channel 7's evening news about the (2-hour) emergency meeting called yesterday to discuss erosion on Plum Island. There does seem to be extra sand there, by the tide line, but I wonder if it will migrate back to the dune on its own?
Well, I'm no expert (although I do play one on this blog). Anyway, the Daily News is reporting that the other emergency measures (excluding the beach scraping) were approved late yesterday, for the homes in Newbury. It's worth noting that the other measures are relatively inexpensive.
I don't see any mention of Dr. Hemani's property on 55th St. in Newburyport being included in the emergency certification and who will actually pay for the hay bales, etc., in Newbury. Hemani forked out $20,000 about 18 months ago for sand bags, sand and permits.
Did I say before that someone said to me that expecting the government to bail homeowners out of this is a little .... er .... Socialist? The town does own the beach, after all, the person noted, and when Sen. Bruce Tarr asked someone (anyone) to step up to submit a proposal to the state for beach scraping, no one stepped up. And Tarr wasn't even asking for money; he was just asking for a proposal. It seems rather capitalist to me (expending public funds to protect revenue from property taxes and tourism as opposed to looking at it as saving people's homes). Any thoughts on this?
(Residents did pay for beach scraping in the past and they do pay for snow fencing and beach grass, apparently, on their properties on the primary dune.)
I was over at Hemani's (summer) house last week, after I wrote the story for the Current, and he has imported sand in to bolster the structure, which was sitting on the edge of the dune after the Feb. 25 storm. He is a little miffed that Newbury gets all this attention, emergency certification, etc., and Newburyport gets nothing. Plus he was denied a permit to repair/replace his sand bags after the storm.
But Newbury pushes for it, don't they? Then again, it is the Plum Island Foundation, not the Newbury Part of Plum Island Foundation.
The man from MEMA (the Mass. Emergency Management Agency), Peter Judge, said that there is little hope of getting FEMA funds because FEMA only likes to fund permanent fixes. Scraping the beach has about the same shelf life as the beach nourishment (since it's basically the same thing, only with fewer elaborate calculations about beach slope thrown in), which is 5 yrs., max.
Toss in there the fact that no one is quite sure what the permanent fix might be - it's a complicated shoreline - and you've got mass confusion (pun intended).
Well, I'm no expert (although I do play one on this blog). Anyway, the Daily News is reporting that the other emergency measures (excluding the beach scraping) were approved late yesterday, for the homes in Newbury. It's worth noting that the other measures are relatively inexpensive.
I don't see any mention of Dr. Hemani's property on 55th St. in Newburyport being included in the emergency certification and who will actually pay for the hay bales, etc., in Newbury. Hemani forked out $20,000 about 18 months ago for sand bags, sand and permits.
Did I say before that someone said to me that expecting the government to bail homeowners out of this is a little .... er .... Socialist? The town does own the beach, after all, the person noted, and when Sen. Bruce Tarr asked someone (anyone) to step up to submit a proposal to the state for beach scraping, no one stepped up. And Tarr wasn't even asking for money; he was just asking for a proposal. It seems rather capitalist to me (expending public funds to protect revenue from property taxes and tourism as opposed to looking at it as saving people's homes). Any thoughts on this?
(Residents did pay for beach scraping in the past and they do pay for snow fencing and beach grass, apparently, on their properties on the primary dune.)
I was over at Hemani's (summer) house last week, after I wrote the story for the Current, and he has imported sand in to bolster the structure, which was sitting on the edge of the dune after the Feb. 25 storm. He is a little miffed that Newbury gets all this attention, emergency certification, etc., and Newburyport gets nothing. Plus he was denied a permit to repair/replace his sand bags after the storm.
But Newbury pushes for it, don't they? Then again, it is the Plum Island Foundation, not the Newbury Part of Plum Island Foundation.
The man from MEMA (the Mass. Emergency Management Agency), Peter Judge, said that there is little hope of getting FEMA funds because FEMA only likes to fund permanent fixes. Scraping the beach has about the same shelf life as the beach nourishment (since it's basically the same thing, only with fewer elaborate calculations about beach slope thrown in), which is 5 yrs., max.
Toss in there the fact that no one is quite sure what the permanent fix might be - it's a complicated shoreline - and you've got mass confusion (pun intended).
Friday, March 19, 2010
Moving right along
I'm snuggled down with my friend, Mr. Moe's vodka, and some ginger ale. From where did I get that combo? Hmmmmm, think it came from someone I once knew, a little.
My dad is loaning me, indefinitely, one of his laptop computers (the newer one). I'll be glad to be back to semi-normalcy. But thanks to someone I think I'm not supposed to mention here and to Mr. T, who has been advising me (although the news has been mostly bad).
Which brings me to my electrical problem. I mean I have a problem with electricity. As in, I think I mentioned before that I seem to have an excess of electricity in my body. As in, I can walk under a street light and it goes off.
I'm not saying I'm special; a friend told me a while back that her husband has the same "problem" and he blows out computers. Kerplunk.
Which makes me think - I wish that electricity could fix the beach, but I don't think anything is going to fix the beach. In all honesty, when state Sen. Bruce Tarr, co-chair of the Merrimack River Beach Alliance, said in today's meeting that the erosion south of the "groin" took them by surprise ... well, the ocean is a strange and mysterious body (not unlike the person who introduced me to vodka and ginger ale).
Apparently there's another storm coming, later next week. Channel 7 had a long report on Plum Island on the 5 p.m. news and they showed at least a part of today's meeting. And while you're trying to figure out if I'm making sense, check out this report on Tuesday night's NBC Nightly News segment Fleecing of America. It's about beach fill, or nourishment.
My dad is loaning me, indefinitely, one of his laptop computers (the newer one). I'll be glad to be back to semi-normalcy. But thanks to someone I think I'm not supposed to mention here and to Mr. T, who has been advising me (although the news has been mostly bad).
Which brings me to my electrical problem. I mean I have a problem with electricity. As in, I think I mentioned before that I seem to have an excess of electricity in my body. As in, I can walk under a street light and it goes off.
I'm not saying I'm special; a friend told me a while back that her husband has the same "problem" and he blows out computers. Kerplunk.
Which makes me think - I wish that electricity could fix the beach, but I don't think anything is going to fix the beach. In all honesty, when state Sen. Bruce Tarr, co-chair of the Merrimack River Beach Alliance, said in today's meeting that the erosion south of the "groin" took them by surprise ... well, the ocean is a strange and mysterious body (not unlike the person who introduced me to vodka and ginger ale).
Apparently there's another storm coming, later next week. Channel 7 had a long report on Plum Island on the 5 p.m. news and they showed at least a part of today's meeting. And while you're trying to figure out if I'm making sense, check out this report on Tuesday night's NBC Nightly News segment Fleecing of America. It's about beach fill, or nourishment.
To scrape or not to scrape?
That is the issue.
Newbury wants to scrape the beach in front of those 2 houses in peril on Plum Island and the state does not want the town to do that. Scraping would bulldoze 3 inches of sand from however many yards from the low water up the beach to replenish the eroded dune.
Apparently this was done back in 2005. In the meantime, the town and the state are working on emergency certification to put hay bales, sand bags and beach grass on the beach there. And maybe at Dr. Hemani's house on 55th St. in Newburyport.
That's basically the upshot of today's meeting.
Newbury wants to scrape the beach in front of those 2 houses in peril on Plum Island and the state does not want the town to do that. Scraping would bulldoze 3 inches of sand from however many yards from the low water up the beach to replenish the eroded dune.
Apparently this was done back in 2005. In the meantime, the town and the state are working on emergency certification to put hay bales, sand bags and beach grass on the beach there. And maybe at Dr. Hemani's house on 55th St. in Newburyport.
That's basically the upshot of today's meeting.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
This & that
What a week! And it's not over yet ...
I'm working on a "loaner" laptop, which my friend's husband has generously given me to use until I save enough money to buy a new laptop, I guess. Or not.
Word to the wise: don't buy a Compaq/HP laptop. The black screen of death is a known fault.
Anyway, how is everyone? Pretty much the first thing anyone says to me these days is to ask how things are out here on PI. There's this big meeting at 2 p.m. tomorrow, at PITA Hall out here, to discuss this very thing.
Who could have guessed that putting those sandbags there at PI center, north of the "groin," would cause such severe erosion southwards? Or maybe it wasn't the sandbags. I'll find out tomorrow!
Right now I'm busy watching Signature Club A on HSN. Yes, that's what I said. Plus I just got jam all over the borrowed laptop. oops
I'm working on a "loaner" laptop, which my friend's husband has generously given me to use until I save enough money to buy a new laptop, I guess. Or not.
Word to the wise: don't buy a Compaq/HP laptop. The black screen of death is a known fault.
Anyway, how is everyone? Pretty much the first thing anyone says to me these days is to ask how things are out here on PI. There's this big meeting at 2 p.m. tomorrow, at PITA Hall out here, to discuss this very thing.
Who could have guessed that putting those sandbags there at PI center, north of the "groin," would cause such severe erosion southwards? Or maybe it wasn't the sandbags. I'll find out tomorrow!
Right now I'm busy watching Signature Club A on HSN. Yes, that's what I said. Plus I just got jam all over the borrowed laptop. oops
Sunday, March 7, 2010
No access through here.
Not that it's that easy to get on the beach here since they piled the sand up at PI Center, but you should not even try to get on the beach there. Newbury police will charge you if you do ... read all about it here, in the Daily News (if you have not already).
"Unfortunately, many people are not abiding by the signs, the barriers, the sand piles and the 'Police Line Do Not Cross' tape," [Newbury Police Chief Michael Reilly] said. "As such, I have issued strict orders to my officers to criminally charge anyone who circumvents the barricades at Plum Island Center. It is unfortunate that we have to utilize such a strict measure, but nothing else seems to work."
There are other public access points ... so use them.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Beach today: March 4
I just got back from PI Center, where it looks pretty much the same as at this time yesterday, except the seas look heavier. When I pulled into the parking lot, there was a man there loading up some fancy looking video equipment, back into his SUV.
Those sandbags represent money well spent, although where there are no bags is taking a beating.
Yesterday afternoon, as I was driving up Northern Blvd. (road up the ocean side of the island) in Newbury, I saw some men working on a new construction at the base of the primary dune, right up against the road. Some other dude driving by going south stopped and yelled something to them along the lines of it being an exercise in futility. They all had a good laugh.
Newbury has a hard time with lessons, I guess.
Those sandbags represent money well spent, although where there are no bags is taking a beating.
Yesterday afternoon, as I was driving up Northern Blvd. (road up the ocean side of the island) in Newbury, I saw some men working on a new construction at the base of the primary dune, right up against the road. Some other dude driving by going south stopped and yelled something to them along the lines of it being an exercise in futility. They all had a good laugh.
Newbury has a hard time with lessons, I guess.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The beach at 1:40 p.m. (just after high tide)
The KEEP OFF THE DUNE sign is gone --- Newbury DPW told me they removed it around noon.
Beach update: March 3
I just went over to the beach. It's low tide but holy moly! I didn't have my camera w/me because it was raining - but holy moly!
The "groin" (big stone structure) is starting to look like a mountain, splitting the north side of the beach from the south side and the south side is looking pretty bad, erosion-wise.
I couldn't help but think back to about 4 yrs. ago, when I was out there on a raw spring day with the Newbury Beach Committee as members replaced and repaired snow fencing and talked about how much they needed donations to buy beach grass. There's a whole lot less dune now than there was then.
A pretty much ignored group (which I believe has disbanded). Who can tell if anything would be different if the efforts of this group had been supported by residents back then? I know that Doug Packer, Newbury's conservation agent, was pretty much right out there with them but they really got no support. When push came to shove, the PI Foundation was formed and as far as I know, no input was solicited from this dedicated group of residents.
By the way, as Ward 1 City Councillor Allison Heartquist has reported, there is a Newburyport beach group that was formed as part of the city's beach plan (the plan was required for public assistance with beach re-nourishment efforts that are on hold for now).
The "groin" (big stone structure) is starting to look like a mountain, splitting the north side of the beach from the south side and the south side is looking pretty bad, erosion-wise.
I couldn't help but think back to about 4 yrs. ago, when I was out there on a raw spring day with the Newbury Beach Committee as members replaced and repaired snow fencing and talked about how much they needed donations to buy beach grass. There's a whole lot less dune now than there was then.
A pretty much ignored group (which I believe has disbanded). Who can tell if anything would be different if the efforts of this group had been supported by residents back then? I know that Doug Packer, Newbury's conservation agent, was pretty much right out there with them but they really got no support. When push came to shove, the PI Foundation was formed and as far as I know, no input was solicited from this dedicated group of residents.
By the way, as Ward 1 City Councillor Allison Heartquist has reported, there is a Newburyport beach group that was formed as part of the city's beach plan (the plan was required for public assistance with beach re-nourishment efforts that are on hold for now).
Monday, March 1, 2010
PI today at high tide
I snapped some pics of the surf, but they didn't even begin to show what it was like. Way out, waves were crashing and it was just incredible.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The beach, Sunday
You'll notice the first 2 photos are looking south from the stone groin, down to the Refuge beach. This was pretty much at high tide. Water from the marsh was encroaching on PI Blvd. as I left the island but had receded somewhat when I returned less than an hour later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
