OC Council Rejects July, August Beach Replenishment Proposal

OCEAN CITY — Despite a request from federal Army Corps of Engineers to expedite the project, resort officials this week denied a request to allow the next cycle of beach replenishment planned for later this year to occur during the peak summer months.

The last regularly scheduled beach replenishment project in Ocean City was conducted in 2014, making 2018 the next phase in the regular four-year cycle. However, Ocean City was hit with a number of severe coastal storms during the offseason last year, including Tropical Storm Joaquin in October 2015, followed by Winter Storm Jonas last January with the latter causing an estimated $21 million in damage to the resort’s beach and dune system.

A series of quick-fix repairs were undertaken last spring and repairs to the dune crossovers and fencing continued through the summer and into this fall. The Army Corps of Engineers, along with its state partner the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Town of Ocean City, have been planning for the next phase of the beach replenishment project, which has been moved up to 2017 after the damage caused by coastal storms last year.

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