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Earlier this week, President Biden signed into law a new policy that enables the use of the vast amount of sand accumulated in Hereford Inlet for federally-sponsored beach nourishment projects on the 7 Mile Island.
The signing of this bill, H.R. 5490, into law dramatically reduces the cost of beach nourishment operations in Avalon and Stone Harbor as each community will have a dedicated sand supply, saving millions of taxpayers’ dollars needlessly spent to transport sand from Townsend’s Inlet to the Stone Harbor beach during maintenance projects.
“ 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 .”
This legislation, commonly referred to as the BEACH Act, permits the use of a sand source within NJ-09 (Hereford Inlet) by federal coastal storm management projects that used the borrow site previously in response to an emergency, such as Hurricane Sandy.