EDIZ HOOK —The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public input on an environmental assessment of a proposed project to reduce erosion on Ediz Hook by beefing up the seaward shore with 50,000 tons of cobble and gravel.
Wave erosion and a lack of new sediment feeding the spit have caused bank failure on several hundred feet of the northwest side of the spit facing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, according to the environmental assessment.
Under the proposal, the Army Corps of Engineers would dump rounded gravel and cobble in two stockpiles.
The material would create a 12-foot-high berm and extend some 25 feet into the Strait.
The stockpiles would spread out on their own, adding 6.5 acres of naturally sloping beach over a distance of nearly a mile. The Army Corps of Engineers said the material would disperse rapidly over the entire spit.
No new riprap would be added.
Comment accepted
A 20-day public comment period that began Wednesday runs through July 19.
The draft environmental assessment is available at http://tinyurl.com/6a2ezye.
Comments can be sent to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Resources Branch, P.O. Box 3755, Seattle, WA 98134.
The Seattle district of the Army Corps of Engineers found no significant environmental impacts of the Ediz Hook Beach Nourishment project.
“The proposed action is not a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment and, therefore, does not require preparation of an environmental impact statement,” wrote Army Corps of Engineers Col. Anthony Wright in his findings.
The eight-week project would take place later this summer or in the fall.
A reduction in sand, gravel and cobble carried to Ediz Hook on longshore currents can be attributed to shoreline armoring west of the spit and the two Elwha dams, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
A 35 percent increase in sediment load from the Elwha River is expected with the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, which is scheduled to begin in September.
However, it could take up to five years before the natural source of sediment would be seen on Ediz Hook, according to a 1996 environmental impact statement on the dam removal project.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
