Posted on October 13, 2022
The township council has authorized an agreement to develop a cost-sharing arrangement between the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the township for a project to replenish local beaches.
The project, known as the Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project, works in conjunction with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to provide flood and coastal storm-risk management along the 14-mile-long barrier, which has historically suffered from storm and hurricane damage.
At the council’s Sept. 27 meeting, Mayor John Ducey broke down the costs of the project’s 50-year lifespan, with 50 percent to be paid by the federal government and the other half by non-federal funds. Through the state aid agreement, 75 percent of the non-federal shares were set to be paid by the NJDEP, with the remaining 25 percent being of the township’s responsibility, in order to ensure the ongoing nature of the work.
The township will not know an exact cost until the bids are received, though the town’s estimated responsibility from an evaluation of the beach in March 2022 was $810,393.52, according to township engineer Elissa Commins. With the county agreement to pay for half of this, the current cost estimation would be $405,176.76.
