North Myrtle Beach City Applies for Permit to Accomplish Additional Dune Restoration Work

The City of North Myrtle Beach has applied to the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control’s Office of Ocean & Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) for authorization under OCRM General Permit 17-SMD to place sand excavated from an inland source onto the dune system fronting the Atlantic Ocean between 41^stAvenue South and 45^thAvenue South, between 37th Avenue North and 42nd Avenue North, and between 61st Avenue North and 63^rdAvenue North in North Myrtle Beach.

The City is nearing completion of a previously permitted dune restoration project from 45th Avenue South to 48th Avenue South and from 42nd Avenue North to 55th Avenue North.

Sand used in the second dune restoration project will come from the same dredging spoils basin located on Little River Neck Road that supplied sand for the first project. Sand currently in the spoils basin is from the Cherry Grove dredging project. Prior to dredging the canals, sand located in the canals was tested and found to be compatible with existing dune and beach sand. The City must remove all of the sand from the spoils basin. Since some sand will still remain in the basin after the first dune restoration project is complete, the City has opted to continue to utilize the remaining sand for more dune restoration.

As with the initial dune restoration project, street trucks will haul sand from the spoils basin to the beach where off-road vehicles will carry the sand along the beach to the dune line. From there, bulldozers will work to achieve the desired dune berm configuration, which is about 7 feet high, 35 feet wide at the base, and 20 feet wide at the top. Over time, wind, rain, and tides will reshape the sand to a more natural looking dune.

There may be some intermittent closures of sections of beach, particularly when the tide is high.

The project focuses on protecting exposed oceanfront structures from storm surge.

Following the reconstruction of dunes, sand fencing will be installed along the dunes and beach grass will be planted.