The Army Corps of Engineers is refuting a story in Sunday?s Philadelphia Inquirer claiming that the Corps is considering asking the Borough of Long Beach Island to help pay to clean up munitions accidentally dumped on the beach during a sand replenishment project.
The Army Corps is now doing damage control to fix information it says was erroneous.
?I never said we would charge Surf City for the cleanup,? an Army Corp spokesperson said. ?I guess he wanted to make it sexier.?
The New Jersey editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer admits, ?We did screw up on the cost sharing part of it. We?re going to make a correction.?
While some residents say they are happy about not paying for the cleanup, others say problems still remain on the beach. They say the munitions have caused a big blow to tourism. They also say beachgoers are still finding munitions in the sand. Some say on average this summer, one munition has been found per week.
A munitions expert with the Army Corps is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week this summer in Surf City to handle any problems as they occur.
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