Parts of homes, cars, boats and untold other debris from Sandy still litter the waterways and marshes of New Jersey's coastal landscape and it's not clear when it will be removed.
Brick Mayor Stephen Acropolis told NBC 4 New York he's not even sure if it will all get done, much less when or how quickly. Acropolis said he's particularly worried about boats stranded hundreds of yards into hard-to-reach marshland, where they can leak gas and oil into the environmentally sensitive areas of the bay.
In Brick's Baywood section, resident Ted Hahula told NBC 4 New York that he talked with a homeowner from the barrier island portion of town across the bay who was searching for his possessions in a debris-filled cove.
He found his dresser with folded underwear and his son's Coast Guard shirt, according to Hahula, but he left the items there because "it was too devastating."
The Coast Guard says the channels it maintains in Barnegat Bay are clear of obstruction, but it couldn't speak for many of the recreational boating areas, which are not its responsibility.
For now, volunteer groups like Clean Ocean Action appear to be taking the lead in clearing the debris. The group has sponsored the first post-Sandy cleanup for this coming weekend, according to its website fortheshore.org.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is fully aware of the cleanup needs, according to spokesman Larry Ragonese, and is working to address them.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which took over the cleanup of Lake Pontchartrain next to New Orleans after Katrina, is also available to help, according to spokesman Justin Ward, though he said FEMA has not asked it to step in.
