SANDWICH, Mass. (AP) - The state's top environmental official has toured several Cape Cod beaches that were pummeled by severe winter storms.

The visit Friday by Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew Beaton to Sandwich and Barnstable comes as Massachusetts assesses damage around the state in anticipation of filing a federal disaster assistance request.

Beaton says dunes at Town Neck Beach in Sandwich were washed out by a major storm in late January. He says sand was pushed into a marsh and blocked the mouth of nearby Mill Creek, threatening the area's ecosystem.

The storms have also wreaked havoc elsewhere on the state's coastline, including damage to seawalls in Marshfield and Scituate.

Parts of Massachusetts have received more than eight feet of snow in the past 30 days.

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