Towns along the Jersey Shore can now use sand from this bay to replenish their beaches

Sand from a bay on the Jersey Shore can now be used for federally funded beach replenishment projects, saving municipalities time and municipal resources for routine beach replenishment ahead of the coast’s busy summer season.

President Joe Biden signed amendments to the Coastal Barrier Resources Act last Monday that lifted federal restrictions on Hereford Inlet, a mile-long stretch of sand at the northern tip of the Wildwoods. The bay is in an area affected by this legislation, which prohibits federal money from being spent on development in designated flood-prone areas.

Under the BEACH Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Reps. Jennifer Kiggans, R-Va., and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., the federal government can remove hundreds of cubic yards of sand that has accumulated in the inlet. use for non-emergencies The bill is fulfilled, ending a roughly eight-year effort to allow the practice.

Avalon and Stone Harbor will benefit from the legislation after dipping into their municipal budgets to replenish sand washed away by coastal storms last offseason.

“This bill now eliminates discretionary decisions based on politics in Washington and applies both science and common sense to protect life and property in our communities,” Avalon Mayor John McCorristin said in a statement.

The mayor viewed Avalon as a leader in the fight to lift restrictions on using sand from the bay to replenish beaches. Typically, after severe storms, including Hurricane Sandy in 2012, sand was moved from Hereford Inlet to fill gaps in the sand. Until 2016, Hereford was typically dredged for large-scale fill.

Efforts to reverse the policy emerged in 2021 when Avalon, Stone Harbor and North Wildwood officials met with then-President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump’s first Interior secretary, David Bernhardt, granted the cities’ request and agreed that the sand would improve coastal resilience.

However, the Biden administration reversed the decision after taking office.

“The signing of this bill is a testament to the strength of communities working together to solve shared problems,” said Stone Harbor Mayor Judy Davies-Dunhour. “By sharing resources, knowledge, expertise and tireless drive, our natural resources will be protected and our communities further protected from severe storms that impact our communities.”

Beach replenishment has been costly for Jersey Shore towns. Earlier this year, Avalon had to spend $350,500 to transport sand from one area to another after storms washed away sand from parts of its beaches.

The county has already spent $1.1 million on a larger, state-funded project that dropped nearly 550,000 cubic yards of sand between it and Stone Harbor.