Environmental Firm Completes Dune Restoration Near Round Dune In East Quogue

Residents of Round Dune Condominiums in East Quogue will see a replenished dune this summer.

Chesterfield Associates, an environmental construction firm based in Westhampton Beach, was contracted by Round Dune Inc. to complete a dune restoration for roughly $20,000 in February, according to the firm’s vice president and co-owner, Seth Allen. He said that the project was completed just four days prior to an April 1 deadline, which marks the beginning of piping plover mating season.

Nearly 2,000 cubic yards of sand, sourced from East Coast Mines & Materials in East Quogue, was dumped on the dunes, which Mr. Allen said were “pretty eroded.” He estimated that, prior to the replenishment, the dunes had lost nearly 10 feet of sand.

He added that the ideal scenario would have been to complete the work mid-May, noting that any subsequent winter storms could quite easily wash away the newly placed sand.

Mr. Allen explained that the dune restoration is not at all related to a proposed beach nourishment project being discussed by the Quogue Village Board, which was scheduled to meet on Friday at 4 p.m. in Village Hall to discuss the creation of an erosion control district.

If approved, the district would tax beachfront homeowners to fund a $10 million project to dump nearly 526,000 cubic yards of sand along a 1.2-mile stretch of beach spanning from the Quogue Beach Club to the village’s eastern boundary.

Southampton Town Chief Building Inspector Michael Benincasa said last week that Chesterfield Associates had secured the necessary permits through the town and the State Department of Environmental Conservation to complete the dune restoration work.

Mr. Allen said that permits have been secured for additional dune grading on Dolphin Lane in East Quogue. He explained that the firm has been contracted by a residential homeowner to relocate a beachfront cabana further north to avoid future storm damage.