BELMAR — Mayor Gerald Buccafusco said Tuesday that the borough has been informed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] that it needs to remove portable bathrooms and storage boxes on the beach that do not comply with state regulations on such structures.
Addressing the borough council meeting Tuesday night, the mayor cited a DEP requirement that “all seasonal or temporary structures must be capable of manual removal within 24 hours prior to any major storm event and must be removed seasonally” by Oct. 31 each year.
The structures covered by the requirement include “lifeguard stands and associated temporary storage containers for beach safety operation, picnic tables, benches, canopies, beach badge sheds, wooden platforms, garbage cans and portable restrooms” with no utility hookups. They can remain in place only from May 1 through Oct. 31, according to the DEP.
Mayor Buccafusco said that borough engineers are working on a resolution of the issue with DEP officials. “It’s a complicated area but I think we’re progressing towards coming to some resolution. I’m optimistic.”
“Our goal, actually, is to just get a six-month extension from them so that we can deal with the issue after the summer and, hopefully, meet whatever their requirements are for next summer.”
The issue has arisen in connection with pending DEP approval of beach maintenance compliance by Belmar, which is currently in the renewal process with the state Division of Land Use Regulation.
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