SURF CITY, NJ - Got a tourism
concern? Well Surf City, New Jersey
does. It is worrying about its 2009
summer tourist season to the tune
of a $17 million cleanup. When
munitions pumped ashore during a beach
replenishment project in 2007, there was
good news & bad news. The beach
was rebuilt, and that's good. But
World War I-era munitions now filled the
sand, and that's bad.
More than 1,100 munitions comprised
of items such as old, rusty
projectiles, propelling charges, and
other such items for use in attacking or
defending a position have to date been
found in over 880,000 cubic yards of
sand that was placed on Surf City's
beaches during the replenishment
project. Beaches were closed during a
portion of 2007 to search for munitions
that continued to be found
throughout the summers of 2007 and 2008.
Surf City, a small town on Long Beach
Island, Ocean County, waits and hopes
the beach sweep will be completed by the
start of summer.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will clean
up one block of beach at a time, hoping
for completion between April and May.
One block of beach will be closed at a
time, allowing visitors to enjoy the
beaches again. The munitions are not
believed to be dangerous.
