By Victor Tine
Staff writer
October 01, 2008 03:48 am PLUM ISLAND — Local officials hosted a beach tour for Department of Environmental Protection representatives yesterday in hopes of speeding up the process of slowing down erosion at Plum Island Center. Deputy DEP Regional Director Eric Worrall got a first-hand look at the damage at the center and listened as consultant David Vine outlined what he wants to do to stem the loss of sand that is close to undermining several buildings near the center. "This is a tough situation," Worrall said. "I don't think there's a great answer any way you look at it." Vine has been hired by the town of Newbury to come up with an immediate measure to combat the erosion while officials work toward a long-term solution to the problem. The most likely candidates for short-term solutions seem to be either 3,000-pound burlap sandbags or lengths of sand-filled fabric stitched into a tube. Vine said he could have a plan to DEP within two days, and Worrall said the approval process could take as little as a week if the plan was satisfactory. Yesterday's walk on the beach was organized by state Sen. Bruce Tarr, the Gloucester Republican whose district includes Newbury. The outdoor meeting was attended by Newbury Selectmen Joseph Story and Jennifer Wright, Newburyport Mayor John Moak, state Rep. Harriett Stanley, Newbury Conservation Agent Douglas Packer, Newbury police Chief Michael Reilly and Ron Stelline of DEP. Also present were Plum Island Foundation President Marc Sarkady and Michael Morris, Wright's husband who recently unveiled the results of his independent study on sand migration patterns at Plum Island. Vine said he might try a combination of sand-filled bags and a heavy-duty snow fencing, but he cautioned that the situation "changes every day." He said the cost for whatever is decided would probably be in the $100,000 to $200,000 range for 500 linear feet of barrier. While the state has set aside $2.5 million for beach stabilization at the island, the money isn't immediately available. Costs for the short-term work will likely be drawn from a $360,000 state grant awarded to Plum Island Taxpayers and Associates last year to put a building at Plum Island Center. That grant has already been tapped to pay Vine for initial engineering work and for drawing up a series of permits for subsequent work. "The money has to, has to, has to be linked to a long-term solution," Stanley said. "We can't be doing this too many more times." Meanwhile, the town has erected a double layer row of concrete blocks between the parking lot at Plum Island Center and the beach. "We're trying to keep people out of Plum Island Center," Reilly said yesterday. "The foot traffic is collapsing the bank faster than the waves are." Not that the waves aren't doing their part. The island, from the center northward for about 1,400 feet, is losing part of the dune just from wave action at high tide — even without the presence of a storm surge. Reilly said that having people climb down the dune to get to the beach is making matters worse. "The pedestrian traffic is just as detrimental as the high tides," he said. He said there are rights of way other than the center that allow people to get to the beach.
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