Memorial Day weekend, maybe.
That’s the target date Ocean County Freeholder Director John P. Kelly has set to get 1,400 boats, pieces of 58 houses and at least eight motor vehicles out of Barnegat Bay. The vehicles and debris were washed into the bay during superstorm Sandy.
Kelly said his first order as the new director of the five-member Republican board was to have Ocean County Administrator Carl W. Block set up a conference call with Commissioner Bob Martin of the state Department of Environmental Protection on the issue.
The freeholder director said he was thrilled to hear that Gov. Chris Christie make dredging Barnegat Bay a top priority in his State of the State address Tuesday.
“Memorial Day is a target, but we all understand and recognize the limitations of the size of the bay and getting the entire job done,” Kelly said. “That is, the state has the same desire as this county in having that bay clean by Memorial Day weekend. I think all of us have to be at least understanding that the job may not be completed by Memorial Day. But if not, it will be well under way. There can be no promises.”
Kelly said the DEP commissioner did not share with him how the state planned to dredge such a large body of water in four months, but that Martin had asked for the county government’s cooperation in helping set priorities and communicating with its municipalities.
The Army Corps of Engineers would handle the inlets, Kelly said.
Once a plan is in place, Kelly wants the DEP to send staff members to a freeholder meeting to brief county officials.
Both Toms River Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher and Lavallette Mayor Walter G. LaCicero have complained that the bay seems more prone to flooding even in routine storms since the Oct. 29 superstorm that devastated the Jersey Shore.
Both Kelaher and LaCicero have cited scientific theories that either debris or large amounts of earth slid into the bay during Sandy, decreasing the volume of water the bay can hold.
Consumer confidence in Barnegat Bay is also an issue. Local dealers at last week’s New York Boat Show got alarming questions from customers who have an impression the bay is trashed beyond use.
Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari said at Wednesday’s meeting that there are 275 marinas in Ocean County that are dependent on the summer tourism season.
Erik Larsen: 732-557-5709;elarsen@njpressmedia.com
