ROCKS HOLD BACK THE SEA AS STRATHMERE LOOKS FOR AID

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ROCKS HOLD BACK THE SEA AS STRATHMERE LOOKS FOR AID
Cleve Bryan ( cbryan@nbc40.net ) - 10/22/08 04:40 pm
Last Updated - 10/22/08 05:32 pm

UPPER TWP.- The rock piles keep growing along the ocean front in Strathmere, as Upper Township Public Works employees try to save property and roadways from the encroaching ocean.

Since Mayor Rich Palombo declared a local state of emergency Sunday, it's been a battle on two fronts: the pounding sea and New Jersey's complicated bureaucracy.

Palombo says after a long wait for beach replenishment money in the first place, the township is now looking for help while dropping about $400,000 for emergency rocks.

"I don't know that anybody, the DEP or anybody, knew that the erosion that took place in the past 2 or 3 weeks would have gotten us to this point," says Palombo.

According to Cape May County's Director of Emergency Management Frank McCall, it's going to be a big-ticket item to come up with a longer-term solution for this erosion problem.

McCall says it’s going to take a lot of effort from state and federal lawmakers to push for appropriations to get money in this area.

"This is a huge challenge for a tiny rural township to deal with," says Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1).

Van Drew says he has been in contact today with the D.E.P., the State Office of Emergency Management and the Governor's Office to keep them informed on the extreme circumstances.

"We need technical expertise, we need some financial resources on the state owned property and we need the ability to get it all done which includes a limited state of emergency," says Van Drew.

It now a matter of time until the governor makes a decision whether or not to issue a limited state of emergency, which among other options could allow F.E.M.A. to pump in money.

With the tip of Strathmere in such a vulnerable state, the longer it takes, Palombo warns the more chance a major storm could wreak even more havoc here.