The long-planned project to re-engineer the East Chop bluff got a major boost with an announcement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that it has awarded $10 million to the town.
The long-planned project to re-engineer and shore up the East Chop bluff in Oak Bluffs got a major boost Thursday with an announcement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that it has awarded $10 million to the town.
The pre-disaster mitigation grant will go toward the cost of reconstructing 1,200 linear feet of the original engineered coastal bank and stone revetment along East Chop Drive, a press release said.
“FEMA is extremely pleased to assist Oak Bluffs in their efforts to build more resilient infrastructure,” said FEMA Region 1 regional administrator Lori Ehrlich in the release.
The agency further praised the town for appropriating $6.9 million at the annual town meeting this spring to put towward the project.
“That local taxpayers voted to fund part of the project was a demonstration of the town’s commitment to protecting itself from coastal erosion hazards, including those caused by climate change,” Ms. Ehrlich said in the release.
According to the release, the grant amounts to roughly 59 per cent of the total $16.9 million price tag for the project, which will be funded through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. The town has also applied for a $3 million grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs to reduce its share.
Comments
If the goal is successful at
Inde West tisburyIf the goal is successful at E Chop, won’t the erosion forces be pushed down to the next most vulnerable spots? Wouldn’t that be the area around 5 corners? You don’t stop erosion with stone, you move it onward to someone else. Who gets it now?
Bravo!
mike SomewhereBravo!
As an East Chop resident ,
Jack East ChopAs an East Chop resident , this is wonderful news! It is equally important to the hundreds of people who walk the Bluff every day and for whom the name Oak Bluffs is synonymous with the East Chop bluffs.
As to the concern of Inde from West Tis, your question is a very good one. If protection against erosion is done correctly the forces are absorbed on new structures which don't erode, i.e. don't break down. It could be concrete or stone. If you want to see it done correctly, just view the recent reconstruction done in downtown O.B. from the Island Queen dock to the public bath house including the new fishing pier. That is a beautiful job.
Good question Inde! With sea
Charles Shabica, Coastal Scientist Oak BluffsGood question Inde! With sea level rising and more intense storms, we need to manage our Island shores with sustainable solutions. A stone revetment (absorbs wave energy unlike seawalls that reflect waves and cause problems for downdrift beaches) is the right solution for E. Chop. The beaches downdrift of E. Chop are all engineered, protected by the jettys at Oak Bluffs Harbor and shore/perpendicular stone groins like the one at Pennacook and Seaview Avenues. The tougher problem is how to sustain our open-ocean beaches. The south shore of the Vineyard (South Beach) is especially vulnerable. Bluffs erode in Chilmark (for example Lucy Vincent Beach) and supply sand to downdrift (to the East) beaches. A short-term solution would be to nourish the beach regularly with sand from inland sources. A sustainable solution is to construct nearshore reef/breakwaters (good fish habitat) and place new sand landward of the reefs at Lucy Vincent Beach. Over time the breakwater/sand fill system can be extended to the east. The system will require additional sand nourishment, passing sand to the beaches east, but over the long term, is less costly than simple beach nourishment.
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