AVALON — Seen as a lame duck since the Democratic National Convention over the summer, and by many even earlier than that, Joe Biden remains the president of the United States until Jan. 20.
This week, the 82-year-old president returned from an international conference in Azerbaijan, pardoned a couple of Thanksgiving turkeys, pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza, rushed to fill judicial vacancies as his term comes to a close, and made Avalon very happy.
On Monday, Biden signed a new policy that will allow the use of sand from Hereford Inlet in federal beach replenishment projects.
Previously, sand could be taken from the inlet in an emergency, such as after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, but regular beach projects, such as those that add sand to Avalon and Stone Harbor beaches about every three years, had to use other sources.
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“It just made no sense to us,†said Scott Wahl, Avalon’s administrator.
The rule related to environmental regulations, but Wahl had little insight into what they were intended to protect. State-funded projects or local projects could also use sand from Hereford Inlet, just not the regular federally sponsored projects.
That meant bringing sand from the other end of Seven Mile Beach, from Townsends Inlet, which Wahl estimated increased the cost of two recent beach fill projects by about $7 million.
In 2021, officials from Avalon, Stone Harbor and North Wildwood met with David Bernhardt, then the U.S. secretary of the interior, and convinced him that the sand taken from that inlet enhanced the environment rather than harmed it. But he wasn’t the secretary much longer, and as the Biden administration took over from former President Donald Trump, that decision was reversed.
Biden signed House Resolution 5490, known as the BEACH Act, an acronym for Bolstering Ecosystems Against Coastal Harm. The act impacts federal rules across multiple states, and has been as the most significant changes to the Coastal Barrier Resources Act in 34 years. It adds hundreds of thousands of acres to a system aimed at limiting development in coastal communities.Â
But local officials are primarily interested in one change: permitting the use of Hereford Inlet sand for all federal beach replenishment projects.Â
“Avalon was proud to lead this four-year battle over this sand source issue and is tremendously grateful to the efforts of Congressman Jeff Van Drew and our federal lobbyists, Warwick Group Consultants, for this significant and important legislation,†Avalon Mayor John McCorristin said in a statement. “This bill now takes away discretionary decisions based on politics in Washington and applies both science and common sense to protect lives and property in our communities.â€
“The signing of this bill into law is demonstrative of the strength of communities working together to solve common problems,†said Judy Davies-Dunhour, mayor of Stone Harbor. “By sharing resources, knowledge, expertise, and relentless vigor, our natural resources are protected, and our communities are further protected from severe storms that impact our communities.â€
The inlet runs between Stone Harbor and North Wildwood, with North Wildwood eagerly anticipating its own beach replenishment project. In an interview earlier this week, North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello also welcomed the approval, although he was not certain whether it would apply to the Wildwoods as well.
“During two recent beach fill projects, more than $7 million of federal, state, and local taxpayer funds were needlessly spent on pipe and booster pumps to send sand from Townsends Inlet to the Stone Harbor beach while several millions of usable sand sat in Hereford Inlet adjacent to Stone Harbor,†Wahl said in a statement. “This legislation removes interpretations from federal law and allows sand to be used for federal coastal storm risk management projects.â€
