The funding was included in the Energy & Water Appropriations Act (HR 4553).

The USACE dredge boat Murden clears a channel through Manasquan Inlet, Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

              “We have been fighting for years for a new dredge, and this bill will make that a reality,” Smith said.

              The congressman has taken a particular interest in nagging safety issues at Manasquan Inlet. In recent years, despite occasional maintenance dredging, shoaling has increased to a level rarely seen in some time. Specifically, the shoaling at the inlet’s south jetty has become so pronounced, at times, that people have been able to set up beach chairs on the sand within the inlet channel itself. The sand buildup has been identified as a safety issue not only for visitors who could get caught in the currents as the tide changes, but for the lucrative commercial fishing industry based in Point Pleasant, whose vessels must navigate the busy inlet channel along with a mass of recreational boats during the summer season.

              The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging vessels Currituck and Murden have both been used to periodically clear the shoaling, however officials have long called for additional capacity so emergency situations would not require diversions of the limited number of vessels, prompting delays.

              “Categorized as a dynamic inlet with strong tides, regularly shifting sands that create very dangerous shoaling, sand bars, and wave action, the Manasquan Inlet can become treacherous — and at times impassible — for both commercial and recreational boaters,” Smith said. “The threat to life and the grave economic impact the shoaling has on NJ’s fishing industry demand a long-term, sustainable solution.”

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Shoaling at Manasquan Inlet, Aug. 17, 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Manasquan Inlet (Photo: Shorebeat)

              Historically, Currituck and Murden have been only two government-owned, shallow-draft dredges serving the East Coast from Galveston, Tx. to Maine. But the Currituck – the oldest dredging vessel owned by the Army Corps of Engineers – has been out of service for several years, leaving only the Murden available to dredge inlets and ports along thousands of miles of shoreline. This lack of operating equipment “could be catastrophic to ports up and down the eastern seaboard,” Smith said.

              The same bill that funds the purchase of the dredge boat also includes renewed funding for beach replenishment projects, Smith said, amidst previous concerns that such projects could have been cut from the federal budget.

              “It should also be clear,” added Smith, “that beach replenishment funds are appropriated in this bill, and existing funds appropriated just this past December — which have not been fully expended — are available for critical beach replenishment projects.”