Primehook Beach area floods again

Two Sussex County legislators have issued strong words against how state environmental officials are handling flooding along the coast of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Both call the state’s noncommittal stance to beach replenishment in the area irresponsible.

“It seems clear Delaware is fashioning a new policy that could not only have dire consequences for those living in and around Primehook Beach, but which could also carry repercussions for the residents of many other similar coastal communities,” wrote Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, and Rep. Harvey Kenton, R-Milford.

The state’s policy, as the two understand it, is to let nature take its course.

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin O'Mara adamantly disagreed.

"There is no immediate action that can be taken to solve this problem," O'Mara said. The implication that DNREC is not doing everything possible to protect the health and safety of residents is not correct, he said.

"There is a level of frustration that is understandable, but we are trying to come up with a solution that makes sense," O'Mara said. "Pointing fingers at each other is not going to change the fact that areas are flooding, sand is eroding and sea level is rising."

Simpson and Kenton recently issued a joint statement on the flooding of the community of Primehook Beach caused by a series of breaches in the duneline at Fowler Beach, just north of the Delaware Bay community.

Residents said flooding from an Oct. 29 nor’easter was as bad as any recent flooding has been. Prime Hook Road, the only access to the town, was flooded and closed most of the weekend. The road was also closed the last week in August because of damage caused by Hurricane Irene.

“We all know how grave the situation is at Primehook.  We can only hope that someone in the government will step up to the plate and make things right for us and stop hiding their heads in the sand and treating us all like second-class citizens,” said resident Claudine Bodin.

Following the hurricane, a Department of Natural Resources and Environmental crew used tons of existing sand to fill the breaches, but the first extreme high tide a few days later opened the inlets again. O'Mara said every immediate action that could be taken has been taken. State officials are not permitted to truck in sand, he said, and even if they could, they are not confident the existing road could handle the required truck traffic.

State and federal officials said no further immediate action is planned.

The legislators said DNREC officials are basing their stance that flooding will continue on sea-level rise, which is expected to be more than 3 feet over the next century. Scientists say most of Prime Hook Refuge could be under water within 50 years.

Under the rising sea-level scenario, Primehook Beach and Broadkill Beach would inhabit a very narrow barrier island while Slaughter Beach, Bowers Beach, Kitts Hummock and Port Penn would be mostly under water.

If the seas rise the predicted 3 feet, other Delaware resort communities would also suffer serious inundation, as would residents of Long Neck and other Inland Bays areas, Kenton and Simpson said.” With regard to state intervention, will a different standard be applied to these homeowners, or will the state take no action, and let nature takes its course?” they asked.

They said it’s commendable to plan for the future, but the issue of sea-level rise is speculative. “What we know with a certainty is that if the Fowler Beach dunes are not repaired, access to approximately 200 homes will be threatened; saltwater intrusion will damage the value of agricultural and residential land; and valuable freshwater wetland habitat will be permanently lost,” they wrote. “The state has a duty to safeguard the welfare of our citizens and environment today, not base its actions on the hypothetical projections of what might happen.”

Simpson and Kenton said repairing the dunes is in the state’s best interest in a proactive stance to ward off potential lawsuits. “The state’s abandonment of its responsibilities will likely negatively affect property values, amounting to a government taking by neglect,” they said.

O'Mara counters that any solution will cost millions of dollars, and even if the state were prepared to spend the money, it does not own the land.  All of the options under consideration to solve the problem are costly, he said. "They all require substantial permits, and they require agreement of the federal government because they own the land."

Still, Simpson and Kenton say the state's inaction could lead to legal action from landowners, resulting in money being spent in court battles and possible compensation payments. “In such a scenario, the repair of the Fowler Beach dunes becomes an increasingly cost-effective option,” they wrote.

Sussex County Councilwoman Joan Deaver, D-Rehoboth Beach, represents residents of Primehook Beach. She said because the county has issued building permits in the past and continues to issue them today even in an area prone to flooding, the county plays a part in finding a solution along with state and federal officials.

“It’s my responsibility to see what the county can do, and I will pursue it. I’ll also continue to offer my support for the residents at the state level,” she said.

She also plans to meet with Kenton, Simpson and Primehook residents to discuss options available to them. The two legislators are also in the process of setting up a meeting with Delaware’s federal delegation.

“The residents of Primehook Beach have been abandoned by many state and federal agencies and officials to whom taxes are paid and to whom faith in government was extended,” said Cindy Miller, chairwoman of the Primehook Beach Organization.

She expressed thanks to several officials who assisted the community during the recent storm, especially Kenton.

“It is not possible to express our thanks enough to Rep. Harvey Kenton who was on the scene, walking the road in the tidal and fast-flowing water, working in concert with the Delaware Department of Transportation and keeping the lines of communication open with our community at all times,” she said.

“He was there from the first raindrop until late Sunday evening when DelDOT was able to open the road.  He personally stopped the school bus from coming down the eroded and water-covered road on Friday and arranged for the parents to retrieve their children in other ways,” she said.

Miller said Simpson, Sussex County Emergency Operations Center Director Joe Thomas and Milton Fire Chief J.R. Clark deserve recognition as well.

“Their care and concern for the residents of Primehook Beach is unique. The Delaware Department of Transportation stands alone among state and federal agencies in their responsiveness and competence,” Miller said.

She said Primehook residents have been abandoned and are being forced to prove their economic worth and live stranded in their homes as no other Delaware residents are asked to do.

Simpson says replenishment is most viable option

Of the possible options to solve Primehook’s problem – dredging for sand to rebuild the dunes, constructing an elevated roadway, getting access from Broadkill Beach or buying out individual property owners – Simpson said beach replenishment is the most cost effective, and the only one that offers a way to stem the tide.

He said $2 million was aside several years ago in the Bond Bill for replenishment of beaches and dunes in Broadkill and Slaughter Beach. “We didn’t use the total amount; dredging doesn’t cost that much,” Simpson said.

O'Mara said he was not immediately aware those funds are still availalble.

“We can’t keep shuffling this decision into the future. We need to sit down now and have that policy discussion for the sake of the folks in Primehook,” Simpson said. “I can’t imagine waking up and not knowing if my toilet will flush, if I can take a shower, get to work or if my kids will be able to get home off the bus because of flooding. I also can’t imagine the stress the residents are under,” Simpson said.