New Jersey, Army Team Up To Protect Against Future Storm Damage
By David Madden
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- As we approach the one year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy battering the New Jersey coast, the Christie Administration has set up a schedule with the Army Corps of Engineers to strengthen beach defense systems for the next storm that hits.
44 miles worth of Garden State shoreline will be rebuilt, according to Larry Hajna with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
"These were projects that were planned and on the drawing board prior to Sandy," Hajna says, "but were never constructed for one reason or another -- lack of easements or lack of funding or a combination of both."
Plans are to get agreements with affected towns starting as early as November, with the projects completed by February of 2015.
We've been working very closely with the Army Corps of Engineers to develop an aggressive schedule for the completion of these projects," Hajna says. "They're critical. They fill in gaps that will protect the coast from storms like Sandy in the future."
Unlike other replenishment initiatives, this beach and dune work will be totally paid for by the federal government using Sandy recovery funds.
In some areas, particularly to the north, homeowners fought against putting new dunes up because they would block views of the ocean. They lost that fight in court.
