WESTON Removes World-War-I-Era Munitions from Public Beaches

As part of a beach replenishment project, approximately 886,000 cubic yards of sand was dredged from an offshore location and pumped onto the Surf City and Ship Bottom beaches in New Jersey. Following the discovery of World-War-I-era munitions in the beach fill, the beaches were closed in the interest of public safety. WESTON responded quickly to clear the beaches of near-surface military munitions in time for the 2007 tourist season, recovering and removing more than 1,200 munitions items from the top 3 feet of beach sand. Additional items were discovered during subsequent beach monitoring. After an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis was conducted, stakeholders selected a full munitions removal operation as their preferred alternative. WESTON was contracted to further process the beach fill to depths of up to 13 feet, recovering items from the dunes, berm, and surf zone.

Eye on Integration

• Coordinated the needs of multiple stakeholders—including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), state regulators, surrounding communities, and beachgoers—to develop project work and safety plans.
• Assembled an experienced team of subcontractor personnel and equipment operators.
• Worked closely with USACE to facilitate stakeholder engagement, including public outreach and media day.

Features

• Sifted approximately 390,000 cubic yards of sand during excavation, and recovered and removed more than 1,900 munitions items from the berm, dune, and surf zone.
• Returned beaches to previous condition: restored dunes; backfilled material; and rebuilt 1 handicap, 3 vehicular, 21 pedestrian, and 56 private crossovers.

Performance Milestones

• Implemented effective Safety Plans and maintained an impeccable safety record of more than 60,000 labor hours without a single lost-time incident, in spite of violent winter storms, erratic beach conditions, and highly volatile surf zone/tidal conditions.
• Created four work zones for four teams to work simultaneously to facilitate schedule.
• Developed excavation techniques to address munitions safety requirements without needing to evacuate residents from oceanfront homes.
• Developed munitions-clearance methods for the challenging intertidal zone area that is under the constant impact of ocean tides, waves, and groundwater infiltration.