It’s official, the Birch Bay beach project is delayed again

A sand and gravel berm would cover the seawall at Birch Bay. Seawalls protect the road and nearby buildings, but result in more sand being carried offshore by reflected wave energy, and thus, less beach. Photo by Oliver Lazenby

By Oliver Lazenby

Construction on the 1.6-mile sand and gravel berm and pedestrian walkway slated to be built along the beach at Birch Bay won’t start this fall, and probably not this year, Whatcom County announced last week on its website.

The project, called the Birch Bay Drive and Pedestrian Facility Project, or the Birch Bay berm, has been in the works since 2016 and this is the third time it’s been delayed for permitting issues.

“Permitting of this beach restoration/safety project has taken much longer than expected,” the county said in an update on its website. “Great progress has been made during the past year; however, the remaining permits will not be completed in time to proceed with construction during the allowed 2018 work windows.”

Since the 1970s, the Birch Bay community has hoped to build a sand and gravel berm to restore the natural beach along Birch Bay Drive and protect the road from erosion and storm surges. In the early 1950s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed 200 to 300,000 cubic yards of sediment from Birch Bay for the Blaine Air Force Station.

A seawall and system of concrete structures protects the road and nearby buildings, but they’ve also resulted in more sediment being swept out to the bay. Restoring the natural beach should be a long-term solution.

The Birch Bay Drive and Pedestrian Facility Project aims to restore 1.6 miles of beach along Birch Bay Drive, from Cedar Avenue to the mouth of Terrell Creek. Image courtesy of Whatcom County

Whatcom County began working to permit the project in early 2016 and hoped to start construction that fall.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review is the most elusive permit for the county. That review requires tribes and several other entities to sign an agreement about what to do with cultural artifacts discovered during construction. Birch Bay is a historically and culturally significant area to the Lummi and other tribes.

Though construction mostly involves adding new sediment, the county will need to dig several holes for drainage pipes.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Archaeological and Historic Preservation, Washington State Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway and the Lummi Nation all need to sign off on the agreement.

Jim Karcher, Whatcom County public works engineering manager, said in an email that the parties have been negotiating “in good faith” since negotiations began.

“The potential for this cultural legacy of a nation to be disturbed by a project is not something that is taken lightly by the county or the affected tribes,” Karcher said. “All that we can say is both parties are continuing to work in good faith on this process and that we are moving forward.”

Additionally, the county still needs permits from the U.S. Department of the Army and a Shoreline Substantial Development Permit, both of which hinge on the NEPA review.

Whatcom County also needs two more right-of-way, or easement, agreements within the project limits; the project runs through 40 private properties on the beach side of Birch Bay Drive. The two remaining easements depend on one owner, who told the county those agreements are contingent on the county completing permitting, Karcher said.

The county also needs to update 24 temporary construction easements that were negotiated in 2016 and will have expired before construction can start.

Once underway, the berm project will likely be the biggest shoreline restoration in Puget Sound. The Army Corps of Engineers and city of Burien completed a similar project in 2014 that involved removing a seawall and depositing gravel on approximately a half-mile of beach at Seahurst Park.

The Environmental Science Center at Seahurst Park calls it the largest bulkhead removal ever on Puget Sound.

The city of Burien did a feasibility study for the project in the early 2000s, completed phase one in 2005 and phase two in 2014, according to a Corps of Engineers press release.

Bill Dowell, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson, said the project isn’t a good comparison to Birch Bay’s beach restoration project because, among other things, it didn’t require the same National Historic Preservation Act compliance.

“No two projects are alike and comparing the Seahurst project, or any project really, doesn’t work,” he said.

The berm will likely be built in two phases – between September and May, Birch Bay’s tourism off-season – over two years. Whatcom County will announce a construction schedule for the berm once it has all permits and right-of-way agreements, according to the county’s website.

Despite the delay, Karcher said this project is still important to the county.

“This is a top priority project for Whatcom County, and we continue to pursue it diligently,” he said. “We appreciate the public’s patience as we work through the permitting and right-of-way phases to get to the construction phase.”