Ocean Grove, NJ. Red flags, rough seas. PG Photo
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
June 4, 2013: Just three days after learning that the FEMA appeal had been denied, officials of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association met today with representatives of major OG organizations to discuss the current situation. Dr. Dale Whilden, President of the CMA said , “We were shocked” to receive the news which came to them via the Governor’s office.
Mr. Ralph delCampo, interim administrator, discussed FEMA regulations with the group. He said that the CMA had been “struggling” with changes in FEMA regs since the rules were first changed in 1993. Later those rules were changed further due to the tremendous amount of money spent after Katrina (2005) when the government was trying to tighten spending.
Mr. delCampo noted that even though this current appeal was denied, the official letter from FEMA indicated that government officials had a “better understanding of the role our boardwalk plays as a multi-use entity with a variety of systems which involve the entire beachfront and contain significant support for emergency services.” The letter detailed all the ways our boardwalk works for promoting the health and safety of citizens at the beachfront. But FEMA evidently did not buy the CMA’s application claim that “the Ocean Grove Beachfront has long been recognized as a public facility by the State of New Jersey and that its services are available at all times, making it eligible for FEMA aid.”
The reason this appeal failed is because of a regulation that requires eligible services to be in use more than 50% of the time. The CMA argued that their emergency services at the beachfront are available all the time, much like a levee in New Orleans is always ready to turn back a major rise in water levels or like an insurance policy that provides constant background protection. But FEMA said that since CMA “has not established that the primary function (50% of either space or time used) of the boardwalk facility serves to provide critical emergency services, FEMA does not consider the boardwalk to be an eligible facility.”
Mr. delCampo pointed out that in 2001 and again in 2013, a Federal agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, will pay 100% for beach replenishment, and yet, here is FEMA turning us down. “Why this discrepancy?” he asked. “Consistency is missing,”
He said that these FEMA rules are “not as black and white as a lay person would think by reading the regulations.” Instead he said that these regs are “more grey than black and white, and that they could be interpreted and even modified in different ways.” As an example, he pointed out that our Representative Chris Smith (4th District) sponsored a bill in Feb, 2013 to correct an “unfairness” and which would require FEMA to repair damaged houses of worship. (The Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act.) That proposed law would not affect us, but it shows that Congress has the power to compel changes in FEMA regulations.
This past weekend, CMA officials met with “experts in dealing with FEMA” to decide on the next steps, including the possibility of a second appeal, perhaps with the chance of having our ideas heard in Washington. They also are contacting all our elected officials about the situation. The FEMA letter mentions a second appeal mechanism. All implications of a second appeal must be considered to decide if that approach would be “best for the community.” Other options are available.
He expressed thanks to all the elected officials in our area: municipal, county, state, and federal who have been supportive. Regarding this political help, he said, “We are very very pleased,” and the names he mentioned included Beck, Smith, Pallone, Menendez, Houghtaling and Bishop. “We are working with them,” he said. “They can generate or influence legislation.”
The CMA has just begun to figure out what to do next, but “our goal is to get funded.” That target will drive all subsequent decisions. In the process they will be careful to not cause any extra issues. Mr. delCampo concluded by saying, “I believe, at the end of the day, that the right decision will be made” by those who control public disaster funding.”
Meanwhile, engineers and consultants are working with the CMA to design the rest of the boardwalk project based on the prototype near the beach offices and based on lessons learned from the past. They want a plan that will protect the beachfront with a strong and durable design that will last for many years and for many storms. They don’t want to rush “like some other beach towns have done.” Mr. delCampo stressed that “We want to be cautious and responsible with the construction; what we do will set precedents for the future.”