TRENTON The state is working to ensure a safe and enjoyable season at the Jersey shore, backbone of New Jersey's nearly $45 billion tourism economy, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe said Thursday during the annual State of the Shore event held in Asbury Park.
During the event sponsored by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, McCabe provided overviews of water quality monitoring, beaches, newly enacted legislation guaranteeing public access to the ocean and waterways, and efforts to make the state more resilient to sea-level rise.
Each one of us takes great pride in the Jersey shore, which is so integral to our identity as a state, McCabe said. Gov. Murphy and I are committed to ensuring that residents and visitors have a safe and enjoyable time this season.
The consortium holds the event prior to the start of the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the beach season, to provide updates on important coastal issues.
During the event, McCabe said the DEP is developing regulations implementing a recently enacted law guaranteeing the public's right to access beaches and waterfronts. The law codifies the Public Trust Doctrine right of the public to enjoy these resources.
The ocean, the beaches, our abundant coastal waterways, and our rivers are resources that must be shared equally by all people, Commissioner McCabe said. The work that we do to craft regulations to implement this landmark law is critical to future generations. No one should ever feel as though they cannot enjoy these treasures fully.
She also affirmed the DEP's commitment to using the latest science to develop strong policies and strategies to adapt coastal and river areas to sea-level rise resulting from climate change.
Mitigating the impacts of climate change is one of the most pressing issues New Jersey faces, McCabe said. We are working hard at all levels of government and with all of our stakeholders in both coastal and inland areas on solutions that make sense and are based on the best scientific data available.
Going into the holiday weekend, Commissioner McCabe noted that beaches are in great shape and that water quality is excellent.
Storm erosion during the past fall and winter was minimal, she said. In addition, she noted that the Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the DEP, is close to wrapping up a $129-million beach and dune construction project for northern Ocean County, one of the areas of the state hit hardest by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.
In addition, the state's Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program is at work safeguarding water quality and public health, McCabe said. The DEP coordinates this state and local partnership that tests water quality at 188 ocean beaches, 20 bay beaches and eight river beaches across the state throughout the season.
Closures at New Jersey's beaches are rare and when they do occur, they are typically related to rainy weather and stormwater runoff. During the 2018 season, 3,358 samples were taken from ocean beaches. Nearly 98 percent of the samples met the state's recreational bathing standard.
In all, 63 ocean advisories were issued and there were only four ocean beach closures due to exceedances of the state's bacteria standard, two in Monmouth County and two in Ocean County. These closings occurred Aug. 15, following heavy rainfall.
Visitors can get up-to-date information on all water sampling and any incidents by visiting www.njbeaches.org. The public can use this website to get beach status information, reports and fact sheets.
