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Updated: August 27th, 2011
We are waiting on Hurricane Irene to make an appearance tomorrow afternoon and overnight. Sorry for the lax updating here. Please see our Facebook page.
Not sure how to get you there, so do a search for Camp Ellis Beach in Facebook! There are a few of them, but we are the IMPORTANT ONE, so be sure to Friend us!!
December 27th, 2010
Well, here we are in the midst of our first real storm of the season! It's about 1PM as I am writing this.Looks like the tide is kicked up pretty good. We've had some seawall damage at our place, but hope to get it repaired before any real damage can occur. The webcam is pretty welll snowed in from the northeast winds. May be a bit before the window clears up, so I'll post images from my private camera on Facebook as time allows.
Speaking of Facebook, I've created a new Camp Ellis Beach page. Please "Like" the page and tell your friends about it. I'll be posting there at least as often as here, probably more so as it's an easier and fast method of getting new information out!
Link to our Facebook page's wall here.
Hope you all had Merry Christmas and
are looking forward to a Happy New Year.
Tim
October 20th, 2010
The Army Corps of Engineers (ACoE) has posted the most recent status update for the State of Maine, including the Cam Ellis project. the document can be viewed here.
October 12th, 2010
There are upcoming meetings in the next couple weeks that you should be aware of. The first is the Shoreline Committee meeting, Thursday night at 7PM at Wormwood's restaurant. the agenda is as follows:
Review PPA recent letter
Status of beach
Upcoming winter storm season
The second is Monday, October
25th at 4:30PM City Hall. This is a meeting of the Saco Bay Implementation Team, along with the Army Corps of Engineers and representatives of the Maine state government. The Corps will be meeting with City officials earlier in the day.
If you can only attend one meeting, I would encourage you to attend
the October 25th meeting
Documents that will be reviewed during this meeting are attached here.
Glidden_Camp Ellis-Coordination Letter
Project Partnership Agreement Army Corps and City of Saco
I have received the following from Rick Michaud of the City of Saco and Richard
Heibelbrecht of the Army Corps.
From Dick Heidelbrecht:
As discussed this morning, we sent out an updated coordination letter to Federal and State agencies that requests any comments that they may have at this time. These letters are all similar except for the last paragraph which requests comments relating to laws or activities that the specific agency regulates. Attached is a copy of the letter that was sent to Mr. Tim Glidden, the Acting Director of the Maine State Planning Office.
From Rick Michaud:
I encourage you to look at the attached letter for a current description of the project status. Dick also said in our conversation earlier today that he is working on a review plan. The legal department is looking at the Project Partnership Agreement. The re-nourishment of the beach may be viewed as deferred construction. The future issue will be when accumulated costs reach the $26.9 million cap on this project, at that time Congress will need to grant additional authorization.
Please attend these meetings if you can. I can't express enough how important your support is to both our community and the project!
Tim
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September 7th, 2010
Well, we certainly got lucky with Hurricane Earl! Aside from a bit of wind and some very pretty surf, we really dodged the bullet. Let's hope the rest of the season is as weak as Earl turned out to be!
SOS MEMBERSHIP
Please consider joining SOS if you haven't already! The cost is very small; only $25/year. This
goes toward helping to offset the cost of the camera feed and this web site. We haven't actively collected dues for a couple years. Once again, our funds are dwindling and I'd like to see the web site and features like the live video continue. I'd also like to add a second camera to the site in the near future, but we can't do that with out funds. If you'd like to join, renew or just donate, please contact me at tim@campelllisbeach.com.
Thanks and have a safe Fall season!
Hurricane Earl August 31st, 2010
As I am sure you are all aware by now, Earl is making a much closer pass to New England that Danielle did last week. Forecasters aren't going out on a limb yet, but I've been watching the path since Sunday when Earl formed. The storm track has been moving westward toward a US landfall all week. It appears the storm has slowed somewhat in it's trek northwestward, as we aren't expecting effects now until late Friday and into Saturday. TS Fiona is on Earl's heels, and I am more than a little curious as to what effect that will have on Earl's track.
For the latest information on Hurricane Earl, I've found the following sites especially detailed:
www.noaa.gov (great information)
www.weatherunderground.com (a favorite)
www.stormpulse.com (excellent maps)
I know you all like having the camera available for live video, but please don't leave the camera running in your browser for extended periods. We have
hundreds (yes, I said HUNDREDS) of visitors every week now, and the camera gets very slow when too many are logged in at once. If you will be away from your PC for a bit, please close the browser down. You can always come back to see the beautiful Maine coast anytime!
Saco backs Camp Ellis project partnership
(August 3, 2010)
The Saco City Council Monday night unanimously endorsed a project partnership agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to address erosion issues in Camp Ellis.
Coastal storms have caused erosion and the loss of more than 30 houses along Camp Ellis. The New England District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted studies to remedy ongoing erosion and developed a plan consisting of a 750-foot spur jetty and periodic beach fill.
The design and construction of the project exceeds the $5 million statutory cap allowed under Section 111 of the River and Harbor Act of 1976, though Congress in 2007 gave authority to exceed the limit in the Water Resources Development Act.
The Secretary of the Army is authorized to spent up to $26.9 million for the design and construction of the project as an aid to navigation while simultaneously mitigating shoreline damage and erosion.
Such an undertaking is dependent on the city acting as a partner following construction, according to information prepared for the council by City Administrator Rick Michaud.
“The city of Saco…desires to foster a partnering strategy and a working relationship with the ACOE and the city of Saco through a mutually developed formal strategy of commitment and communication, which creates an environment where trust and teamwork prevents disputes, fosters a cooperative bond between the ACOE and the city of Saco, and facilitates the successful implementation of the project,” Michaud wrote.
The agreement also will clarify the role and responsibility of each party from design through construction and for 50 years following the completion of the project.
Mayor Ron Michaud said the plan will be given to Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree to submit to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
A copy of the Partnership Agreement can be found here
******
Write your Senators, State Reps, Mayor, Counselor
and President
Now is the time to write ask for
representation from your local, state and federal government
officials. I'd ask that you take the time to write
(not email) each of your representatives and ask that they
step up and help us save Camp Ellis.
The text of a letter is available
here. Please feel free to download it and adapt it
to your style. Again, a handwritten or typed and
mailed letter gets FAR MORE ATTENTION than email. I'd
like to thank Patty Van Ness for copying me with her
original letter and allowing me to revise and post it here.
Tim
*****
This update regarding
Camp Ellis erosion due to the storms in March is from Mike
Bolduc of the Saco DPW:
Camp Ellis Coastal Erosion Maintenance
The Camp Ellis area of Saco experiences significant erosion
of dunes and roadways, as well as the settling of armor
stone along a stretch of 2000 feet of coastline.
Approximately 10 to 15 times per year Saco Public Works will
perform some level of sand dune and roadway replacement.
Conditions needed for this erosion to occur require an east
to northeast wind, 5 to 8 foot seas, and a high tide greater
than 9 feet. So far this storm season Public Works has
placed over 1800 cy of sand and 500 cy of gravel along Surf
St between Sunrise Ave and Eagle Ave to cover the “Geotubes”
and provide gravel road property access. The Main Ave and
North Ave intersection has needed to have sand and debris
removed with a loader on several occasions. Lower Beach Ave
at Surf St has been rebuilt with gravel for access to
private property following storm events. The armor stone
between the jetty and Fairhaven Ave is restacked annually.
Public Works has dedicated over 750 man hours to erosion
control and repairs during the past twelve months in Camp
Ellis.
*****
Response from Senator Collins regarding status of
Jetty Project
Kellie Perrault Mueller wrote
Senator Collins in the fall asking for an update on the
status of the appropriations of funds for the Camp Ellis
Restoration Project. A copy of Senator Collin's reply
is available
here.
*****
The Photo Gallery is up and running!
If you have any photos you'd
like to share with others, please email them to me and I'll
be sure to add them to the site as soon as possible, with
the photog's name, of course. Include any information
you'd like to have as the caption!
*****
The Guestbook is online!
You may now sign in and leave comments
in the
Guestbook. These are
public comments and can be seen by others, so play nice!
*****
Camp Ellis Beach on Facebook!
I've created a Camp Ellis Beach
site on Facebook. Request as a friend and I'll reply
as soon as possible!
*****
The web cam is up and running!
I've changed the Live
Video link to open the video feed directly into a portion
of the web page, instead of within it's own application.
This should make it easier to view. You may still be asked
for a username and password. Just type "maine" into
the username and leave the password field blank. Click
the Live
Video menu item to the left and the video should come
up!
***** Army Corps Update
This is the latest information (September 2009) from the
ACoE web site:
SACO RIVER AND CAMP ELLIS BEACH, SACO (1st CD)
– The New England District, in response to a
request from the city of Saco and state of Maine, is
undertaking a study under the authority of Section 111 of
the River and Harbor Act of 1968 to find a remedy to the
ongoing erosion of Camp Ellis Beach. The Corps meets
periodically with state and city officials and local
interests to discuss ongoing computer modeling efforts being
conducted by the Woods Hole Group (WHG) under contract to
the Corps. The models are examining effects of coastal
structures on wave climate, currents and erosion. Initial
modeling and evaluation of alternatives determined that a
spur jetty, an offshore breakwater, a combination of the
spur jetty and breakwater, or T-head groins offered the best
protection.
However, with identification of soft clay
under a large portion of the study area, the offshore
breakwater was not feasible and additional breakwater
alignments situated closer to shore were evaluated.
Additional subsurface investigations were completed in 2005,
and the results were used to develop and model additional
alternatives. The results of these efforts were provided to
the sponsor, state and public in January 2006. These efforts
indicated that a plan involving a 750- foot long spur jetty
and periodic beachfill was the optimal Federal plan. Local
interests prefer a plan for a 500-foot spur jetty and two or
more nearshore breakwaters that require less frequent
periodic beachfill. Modeling of this locally preferred plan
has been completed and has been reviewed by the city and the
state. As this project will exceed the $5 million statutory
cap under Section 111 authority, Congress provided specific
authority in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 to
exceed this limitation.
This Act authorized a maximum Federal
expenditure of $26,900,000 for work under Section 111 at
Camp Ellis.
Ongoing FY09 and FY10 activities will
include completion of design efforts, and preparation of a
decision document and environmental assessment (EA). The
decision document will require review and approval by the
Corps’ North Atlantic Division before release for public
review. The Corps and City anticipate beginning the Federal
and state regulatory approval process for the project during
the fall of 2009. Once environmental approvals are secured
for the final proposal, and Congressional funding for the
project is received, then preparation of plans and
specifications would be completed. A construction contract
would then be sought in the subsequent two to three fiscal
years. The last effort under this project will include beach
nourishment of Camp Ellis Beach.
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