Agencies not clear who opens beaches on Long Beach Island By DONNA WEAVER Staff Writer, (609) 978-2015 Published: Thursday, May 3, 2007 SURF CITY — There is some confusion as to which agency is taking the
lead on reopening beaches on Long Beach Island.
“I think it's premature for the corps to say that we are taking the regulatory lead on this,” said Elaine Makatura, director of the DEP press office. “I would say this is a collaborative effort. There are still a lot of discussions and planning still going on.” The discovery of military munitions on the beaches in March contributed to the delay of the beach-replenishment project's completion in Surf City. Also, beaches in Ship Bottom, which were part of the area where the project tapered off, were closed earlier last month. In a status report dated April 20 and posted on its Web site, the DEP stated that the corps would be ready to open two taper areas from a technical standpoint by April 27. Those areas include South Seventh to South Third streets in Ship Bottom, and North 25th to North 21st streets in Surf City. But no portions of the beaches were opened last week. Khaalid Walls,
a corps spokesman, said that from a technical standpoint there are portions
of the beaches in Surf City and Ship Bottom that are clear. However, the
beaches cannot actually reopen without regulatory concurrence, an agreement
on land use controls and the consensus of all stakeholders, according to
Walls.
“So far we haven't been able to accommodate everyone and have the meeting in order to reopen the beaches,” Wall said. “This is not really a setback; we're just in the process of coordinating those meetings.” The confusion in leadership comes just one day after the corps reported more than 900 munitions had been found on the beaches since March. “The bulk of the munitions that have been recently discovered are small four inch boosters and some with three-inch projectiles. These munitions have been found in multiple caches,” Walls said. “The munitions are World War I era, most likely disposed of prior to World War II. It's looking like these munitions were dumped in mass quantities.” On Wednesday, Walls said he was told by his superiors that the DEP was taking the regulatory lead on reopening the beaches. “We're going to submit our recommendations to the DEP for the reopening of the beaches, but it is my understanding they are taking the lead,” Walls said. Ed Voigt, a spokesman for the corps, said overall the project belongs to the corps, but from a regulatory standpoint, for the beaches to be reopened, both the DEP and the EPA essentially need to sign off on the decision. “We cannot declare unilaterally that the beaches will be reopened. We would have to check with these agencies before opening the beaches so they would have the lead in that respect,” Voigt said Wednesday evening. Makatura said that DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson does not want the corps to walk away from its responsibility to the project. Walls said the corps plans to stay with the project “for the long haul.” To e-mail Donna Weaver at The Press: DWeaver@pressofac.com
|
