Dune System At Island Beach State Park Didn't Cause Sandy Damage To Mainland, DEP Says

South Seaside Park resident Donald Whiteman's family has lived on the barrier island section of Berkeley Township for seven decades.

And they know a washout from a storm when they see one, going all the way back to the Hurricane of 1938, he has said at more than one Berkeley Township Council meeting.

Whiteman again urged township officials at the May 5 meeting to pressure the state Department of Environmental Protection to include Island Beach in the Army Corps of Engineers dune and beach replenishment program.

"Residents in South Seaside Park who stayed during the storm recognized there was more than one breach," he said. "Island Beach had about five washouts."

Whiteman was one of those who rode out the storm. He noticed problems at the northern end of the park as early as 2 p.m. on Oct. 29, hours before Sandy's full force roared onto the barrier island.

"The water was just running down about three feet," he said. "It just flowed and flowed into the bay."

But including Island Beach in the Army Corps' project is not going to happen, DEP spokesman Bob Considine said.

Island Beach's dune system is the "largest and most developed dune system in the state," Considine said.

"By and large, the dunes at the park – which is primarily an undeveloped barrier island - held up very well during the storm," Considine said. "While there was a washover at Two-Bit Road at the northern end of the park and a few of the access points were compromised, they had no bearing to whatever damage was sustained on the mainland. As a result, the Corps project is not authorized for Island Beach State Park."

But officials in both Berkeley and Lacey townships disagree. They have called for for Island Beach to be included in the Army Corps of Engineer's storm damage reduction project, which runs from the Manasquan Inlet to the Barnegat Inlet. But Island Beach has been excluded from the plan.

Portions of South Seaside Park, Glen Cove, Good Luck Point and Toms River Shores were swamped by Sandy's storm surge on Oct. 29. Homes along the Forked River Beach area of Lacey are still uninhabitable and the beach has been compromised.

Some of the damage could have been avoided if dunes had been in place in certain areas of Island Beach, especially along Two-Bit Road in the northern section of the park, officials have said.

"...various Township officials and residents have witnessed the destruction caused to the Township due to the lack of dunes at Island Beach State Park," the Berkeley resolution states.

Community-based efforts to beef up the dunes where needed at the park will continue and the area at Two-Bit Road will be addressed, Considine said.

"But not as part of a Corps project," he said.