The arguments of those who oppose regular beach replenishment paid for largely with federal tax dollars seem unassailable. It is true that replenishing the sand on beaches that are guaranteed to erode and give the sand back to the ocean seems like the punishment of Sisyphus. For his arrogance against the Greek gods Sisyphus was condemned to roll a massive boulder up a steep hill, only to witness it roll back down. The task had to begin again and again.
There are few of us who would defend the spending of millions to put sand where we know it will erode so we could spend millions more replenishing it. We are in most cases fighting a battle to maintain beaches in an endless struggle with nature.
Yet evidence shows that periodic beach replenishment, for all of the cost and effort involved, is good policy at the federal level, the state level and most certainly at the local level. It passes one basic test that we apply to most of our economic endeavors: It earns more than it costs, significantly more.
It also protects robust property development that would otherwise be exposed to higher risk of disastrous loss. Even those who decry such development and say that it should never have been allowed must admit the reality. It was allowed, and it is real. Billions of dollars of property, almost all of it protected by federal flood insurance, is shielded by engineered beaches and their dunes.
—————-
Protecting lives. Protecting billions of dollars in federally insured property. Providing a highly prized area of enjoyment – beach replenishment does all three while earning more than it costs.
—————-
Some numbers perhaps give a better sense of what that reality is just in our little corner of the state. According to FEMA records, Cape May County has just under 50,000 federal flood insurance policies in force. These policies provide for more than $12 billion in coverage. Reducing the risk to that is in the federal government’s best interest – and in the interest of the taxpayer.
The protection afforded by engineered and periodically replenished beaches also safeguards lives. Real people who live, work, pay taxes and have families are often on the other side of those dunes. Some of the people whom the beaches protect own second homes, others have lived by the ocean their whole lives. Either group deserves the safety that replenished beaches and the dune system provide.
Yes, money is spent with the full knowledge that it will have to be spent again. That is why the contracts offered by the Army Corps of Engineers were for 50 years. In 2024, Cape May County alone accounted for more than $8 billion in tourism spending. Over 12 million visitors spent an average of $670 each in the county. In the state occupancy tax alone, the county produced $23 million. That does not include things like revenue from the state sales tax.
What about federal dollars? A bevy of taxes return investment gain to the federal government in terms of employment taxes, business taxes and income taxes on those for whom the tourism economy is central to their livelihood.
A 2019 Heritage Tourism study demonstrates the point. That year, heritage tourism in New Jersey alone accounted for $485 million in federal taxes, as opposed to $358 million in state and local tax revenue. Washington, in other words, collects even more than Trenton from our beaches.
This verse speaks directly to replenishment. The danger—coastal erosion and storm damage—is clear. Prudence means taking preventive action, not waiting for disaster and paying the penalty afterward. Beach nourishment is nothing more than modern prudence, wisely investing to prevent far greater harm.
Tourism is a major industry. In New Jersey’s coastal counties it is the key industry. Like any area of economic activity, it is taxed and money flows back to Washington and Trenton. More than anything spent on periodic replenishment of beaches is returned in tax dollars, both at the federal and state level.
Entire local economies flourish, billions of dollars in federal insurance coverage is safeguarded, and the risk of loss of life is reduced. That is more than enough return on the investments made in beach replenishment.
It is time to dispel the idea that federal and state investment in our beaches is money wasted on the enjoyment of the rich. Perhaps those politicians who entertain such ideas should think instead of the backlash from millions of hard-working voters who find the beaches they have gone to since childhood are not being maintained because of wrongheaded notions about saving taxpayer dollars.
This is what is called a no-brainer. Put the dollars for adequate beach replenishment back in the federal budget. Let the Army Corps of Engineers do the work it was trained to do. Protect federal and state investment – and continue to reap its rewards.
Forget the few who own expensive homes, and think first of the millions of visitors who expect those beaches and who will want to know who is at fault if they are not any longer there.
Quotes From the Bible
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” -Proverbs 27:12
