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NJ DEP Issues Update
on Coastal Storm Damage and Beach Erosion
Commissioner Campbell Pledges Emergency Support for Shore
Communities
(03/13) Trenton— New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner
Bradley M. Campbell today announced that support and emergency
beach restoration funding are available for shore communities
severely affected by the recent storm.
"While preliminary reports indicate
that the storm's impact along New Jersey's coast was not
as destructive as feared, a number of shore communities
did suffer damage," said DEP Commissioner Campbell.
"Our coastal inspectors are working with local communities
to assess beach erosion and flood damage, and will assist
those areas in need of emergency support."
Areas from Long Beach Island south along
the New Jersey coast experienced the most severe beach erosion.
Coastal communities along Long Beach Island,
Ocean County, lost approximately 5-to-6 feet of vertical
beach.
Atlantic County beaches - Atlantic City,
Ventnor, Margate and Longport - lost an average of four
feet of sand vertically.
In Cape May County, Ocean City experienced
a 6-to-8 foot vertical cut in the beach and Stone Harbor
lost approximately 2-to-3 feet of vertical sand along the
entire beach. Stone Harbor also lost approximately 13,000
feet of sand fence that appears to have been washed away.
In addition, approximately two-thirds of
the sand placed along Stone Harbor beaches as part of a
state and federal beach replenishment project has been carried
offshore. While the sand has been temporarily displaced,
the DEP anticipates that a portion of the offshore sands
will migrate back as a result of normal currents over the
next several weeks. The replenishment sands provided a critical
defense against more significant coastal damages during
the course of the storm.
"This storm has provided powerful
evidence of the effectiveness of the DEP shore protection
program and demonstrated the importance of Governor McGreevey's
commitment to ensuring that these programs are fully funded,"
Commissioner Campbell added.
The DEP will be conducting follow-up inspections
to determine the full impact of the storm's damage.
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