The Jersey Shore Partnership is concerned with the recent stories that the Bush administration is considering requiring shore communities and states to pay a larger percentage of the cost of protecting the nation s shoreline. Historically, the federal government has paid 65 percent of the cost of this work, and state and local governments have supported the effort by paying 35 percent. In those areas where beaches have been widened, the shoreline has been protected and property saved.
New Jersey communities that once regularly flooded no longer are damaged when storms hit.
The Jersey Shore Partnership is strenuously protesting the proposed reversal of the funding formula, which would drastically increase the amount municipalities and states would have to pay for shore-protection work. If enacted, the plan could mean the end of projects at the New Jersey shore that have saved lives and millions of dollars in property damage during the past decade. If we do not protect these areas before natural disasters strike, the consequences will be even more costly to the federal government. We believe it is much wiser to spend some money to protect shore property and the infrastructure from storm damage than to spend millions of dollars more to repair damages after a storm. The economy of the New Jersey shore, and all coastline communities in the United States, is based to a large extent on its beaches.