Along Parts Of Jersey Shore, Half The Sand Lost To Sandy's Erosion
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - We know that our beaches are in bad shape after superstorm Sandy, but now we're learning just how bad the erosion was, and there are questions about who's going to fix them.
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In some Jersey Shore spots, half the sand or more is gone.
"Pushed across the islands as well as very far off shore that won't make it back to the beach," said Daniel Barrone of the coastal research center at Stockton College.
This isn't just about New Jersey's $35 billion tourism industry. It's also about protection when homes are rebuilt.
He says areas where the federal government has beefed up the beach recently, such as Long Beach Island, fared much better than places that have not.
"The destruction was far less than in places such as Holgate, where the beaches and dunes are much narrower and smaller," he said. "In some cases, like Mantoloking, lost 100 feet of shoreline."
He doesn't see how New Jerseys beaches can be fixed without federal help. Of course, nothing in Washington these days is a sure bet.
Sen. Tom Coburn from Oklahoma has called beach replenishment costly, wasteful pork. But Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey predicts there will be federal help.
