On September 21 the Herald published an opinion piece that argued for “a sensible local waiver” from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for the use of Hereford Inlet as a borrow area in support of federal beach replenishment projects. In that opinion piece we stated that the Interior Department, of which FWS is a part, had “routinely granted a waiver for the use of the sand” up to 2016.
Two days after that opinion piece appeared in the print edition of the Herald, we received a communication from the FWS that stated unequivocally that “The Service has never endorsed the removal of sand from Hereford Inlet Unit NJ-09 under CBRA for the purpose of nourishing beaches to the north of the unit.” CBRA stands for the 1982 Coastal Barrier Resources Act that is at the heart of the controversy concerning Hereford Inlet sand.
The correspondence went on to argue that in 1996 the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) consulted with the FWS, as required by CBRA they note, concerning a one-time environmental restoration project within the Hereford Inlet. The project was in an area “adjacent to the Stone Harbor Point.” FWS states that the project fell within the “CBRA’s exception for enhancement of fish and wildlife resources and habitats.” The borrowing of the sand was approved.
In the correspondence, FWS added that the ACE never consulted with the Service on the use of Hereford Inlet sand again until 2016 when a request to use the sand for beach replenishment was denied. “It was the Service’s opinion that the 1990s project met a CBRA exception, while the 2016 project did not.”
The FWS declined to comment on the known use of Hereford Inlet sand by the ACE in the years between 1996 and 2016, most recently in 2013. The point of the correspondence was that the service had not been consulted during those years and had granted no waivers for the use of the sand.
We present the FWS statement for the public record.
Email vconti@cmcherald.com with thoughts or information.
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