By
DAVE FISHER and TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff
SOUTH
KINGSTOWN — The wind seems to have shifted concerning the erosion problem at Matunuck Beach
After
previously rejecting efforts by the town to protect Matunuck Beach Road from
erosion through hard “armoring” measures and reclassification of the beach as
“manmade," the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) voted 6-4 May 8
to approve the original application for a special exemption to CRMC regulations
for a 202-foot-long stretch of Matunuck Beach directly next to the Ocean Mist.
The
council then voted 9-0, with one abstention, in favor of the town’s request to
install a sheet-pile wall along the exempted section of Matunuck Beach Road
A report (pdf) provided to the council
by CRMC executive director Grover Fugate recommended a four-pronged approach to
the problem at Matunuck and the greater issue of creating a long-term,
statewide plan to assess and remedy future erosion problems on all of Rhode Island
In
his report, dated May 4, Fugate classified the sheet-pile wall as a "stop
gap approach to shore-up the road at Matunuck."
Town
manager, Steven Alfred maintained the position that the road is in “imminent
peril” of destruction if a severe coastal storm or hurricane made landfall at
Matunuck, and expressed concerns that the so-called “soft” solutions proposed
by some of the stakeholders would take too long to implement.
His
concerns were echoed in Fugate’s memo, where he wrote, “Even if the town were
to agree on some of the alternatives suggested at the hearings and in the staff
reports, there is an implementation lag of 18-36 months. The road is already in
a compromised state and one good coastal storm could significantly damage it.
... There is clearly a public health and safety purpose to protecting, in the
short term, this limited section of road until a more comprehensive look is
taken and other alternatives seriously explored.”
The
next day, one of the council’s most vocal opponents of the exemption, and the
one abstention from the vote to allow the installation of the sheet-pile wall,
Tony Affigne, said, “The sheet-pile wall will not protect the beach, and will
not protect the beachfront properties. It will only protect the road and
utility infrastructure. Damage to the road and water supply can be repaired;
damage to the beach is irrevocable.”
Affigne
also expressed concern that not enough information was available on the
condition and stability of the existing concrete wall at the site, but noted
that the headlands bluff had already washed away from the last 40 to 50 feet of
the wall.
While
the CRMC pulled a complete 180 on the issue of special exemptions and
sheet-pile walls at Matunuck, most of the attorneys representing Matunuck
businesses, residents and advocacy groups maintained their previous positions,
either for or against the proposals, with one notable exception.
After
opposing the measure, Jane Austin, policy analyst and lobbyist for Save The
Bay, said the organization supports the project, which creates an experimental
zone for "soft" manmade erosion control structures.
Save
The Bay’s support may be jumping the gun a bit, according to Affigne. He cautioned
that the "council was only voting on the installation of the wall. The
other recommendations (in Fugate’s memo) are purely hypothetical.”
On
May 9, a bill (pdf)
was introduced to the Senate Committee on the Environment and
Agriculture that directs CRMC to create a beach protection and
re-nourishment plan for Matunuck. Several members of the Senate Committee
referred to successful sand replenishment projects in other states such as South Carolina
The
bill passed unanimously, and just after the May 9 Senate hearing, Austin