Despite Local Claims Some Cape Dunes

HOMES LIKE THESE eMt of Dune Dr. in Avalon couldn’t be rebuilt if more than half destroyed by the sea — If the proposed Dune Shorefront Protection Act becomes law. • MUA Picks Outfall,

Treatment Plant Sites

SWA INTON - The Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority has chosen Jefferson Ave. in Wildwood Crest — one block north of the Lower Township boundary —as the site for an ocean outfall for the proposed multimillion dollar wastewater treatment plant to serve the Wildwo.ods-Lower region. At its monthly meeting here last Wednesday, the MUA also selected the former fish processing plant on Rio Grande Blvd.

in Middle Township, between Rio Grande and Wildwood, as the location for the treatment plant. IN SELECTING the Jefferson Ave. outfall site — which is more than 40 blocks or 2 miles south of Rio Grande Blvd. — the MUA indicated it was influenced in its decision by the desire of Greater Wildwood officials who opposed the line extending into the ocean from Rio Grande Blvd. However, the threat of legal action by Middle Township officiate

opposing the siting of a second MUA treatment plant within the township didn’t prevent the authority from unanimously choosing the menhaden plant site. Rio Grande Blvd. will serve as the ingress-egress route for the location of the pipelines to transport wastewater from the barrier islands to the treatment plant and back to the ocean outfall — which will empty several thousand yards offshore. (Page 3 Please)

recital at the Gatebo In Learning’s Run Botanical Gardens, off Rt. 9 in Swalnton — one of the lesser known attractions on the Jersey Cape.

Unprotected

can be read in the study “Floor Plain Information in the Tidal Lands of Cape May County", which was prepared by the U S Army Corps of Engineers who assisted local communities in the rebuilding process of their severely afflicted dune

and shoref ront areas In 1968, the study formed

the basis for the subsequent Federal Flood Insurance Agency coming into existance. As a result.

specific building code regulations were put into effect. Structures located in flood plain areas were set a minimum of 10 ft. above the ground. All new or replacement electrical controls, water supply, and sanitary systems were de signed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters. SOME LOCAL communities, mindful of theimpor(Page 40 Please)

Meeting Called To Thumrt Act

by Michele R. Crottoln The sands of time are shifting quickly in Cape May County where a storm of confusion and controversy continue to rage regarding State Assembly Bill N1825 - the Dune Shorefront Protection Act. Introduced June 9. Bill 1825 calls for stringent enforcement of protection of endangered dune and shorefront areas along ocean and bayfroots. IF ADOPTED in its pre sent form, construction will be prohibited in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of South Jersey, an area defined bv the bill as being all of the beachfront property “between the ocean and the first parallel paved street" in barrier island commun-

ities.

Decried by some beachfront property owners as being a “piracy” act, the Dune Shorefront Protection Act clearly stipulates that all existant residential property located within the Coastal Plain cannot be rebuilt "if the fair market value u* the structure is reduced by more than 50 percent as a result of water, waves, wind or other storm related damage. BILL 1825 further advises that a state appointed official, who will be immune from the parochial interests of any one municipality, be responsible for supervising the enforcement of all proscribed protective regulations covered in the legislation. Viewed by many as a contest between growing state bureaucratic control and the right of local minicipalities to home rule regulation, the bill’s introduction j»f the State Assembly has acted as a catalyst for heated public debate throughout Atlantic and Cape May Counties. THOSE WHO support the bill maintain that extensive destruction of dunes has taken place in this centtiry along most of the coast; that the resulting disruption of the natural processes of the beach-dune system has led to severe erosion of some beach areas. Defenders of Bill 1825 go on to say that this destruction has "necessitated increased public expenditures by citixens of the entire state for shore protection structures and programs, and increased the . likelihood of major losses of life and property from flooding and storm surges". DESCRIPTIONS of the destruction caused by the March 1962 storm, if not still etched in the minds of those who lived through it,

Stone Harbor. A "town meeting" has been called here by Mayor James Wood to continue the momentum against the proposed Dune and Shorefront Protection Act. The gathering will be 10 a.m. July 26 in the Park Theatre and will feature remarks by Larry Masi of Ocean City, president of Citizens for Local and Intelligent Control, and state legislators. The Mayor also announced last Friday the formation of a local CLIC chapter and said local civic leaders will be lending their support as the newly formed chapter attempts to raise a $25,000 “war chest.” According to Ted Pain, secretary of the local CLIC chapter, the funds would be used to “support the hiring of legal, public relations '

and environmental talent to thwart [the bill's introduction and/or passage." On Monday. Assemblyman Robert Hollenbock, the bill's sponsor, announced the proposal would be put aside while alternate legislation is drafted. The Bergen County Assemblyman's remarks came in the wake of continued opposition to the Act. Masi, however, viewed the withdrawal with caution/ indicating it may be an attempt to put the measure on the back burner only until the public outcry dies down. He urged continued monitoring of any similar proposals and said financial contributions are still being accepted by CLIC