House considers $665,000 for dredging Barnegat Inlet

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House considers $665,000 for dredging Barnegat Inlet

Published: Tuesday, July 08, 2008

From Press staff reports

WASHINGTON - An additional $665,000 in federal funding may be allotted for maintenance dredging to keep the Barnegat Inlet navigable, according to a legislator's office.

The funding would bring to $1.5 million the amount set aside for maintenance dredging of the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway as part of the 2009 Energy and Water bill passed by the House of Representatives' Appropria-tions Committee on June 25, said a release from the office of U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton, R-3rd.

The inlet connects Barnegat Bay to the Atlantic Ocean at the north end of Long Beach Island.

Saxton said he expects the funding to be considered by the entire House by the end of the summer.

"There is an obvious reliance on keeping the inlet safe for the marina and commercial fishing industries, as well as the boat-owning public," Saxton said in the release. "Everyone who navigates the area, from party boat captains to our commercial fishing fleet, knows the well-deserved reputation of Barnegat Inlet as being subject to dangerous shoaling. A clear channel is the best way to provide safe passage for boaters. It is a classic case of prevention being the best medicine."