More sand on Jersey Shore’s deteriorating beaches | News, Sports, Work

NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (AP) — A decade-long dispute over the condition of a New Jersey resort town’s beaches, which has involved lawsuits and tens of millions of dollars in fines, may soon come to an end.

Patrick Rosenello, the mayor of North Wildwood, says his city has reached an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to drop claims from both sides and take steps to expand beaches in the community popular with tourists from Philadelphia.

According to the Republican mayor, the agreement, which will be put to a vote by the North Wildwood council on Tuesday, will resolve all outstanding disputes between the parties. According to him, the estimated replenishment period is around 2025.

The deal would reverse a $12 million fine New Jersey had slapped on North Wildwood for unauthorized beach repairs that the state said could actually increase erosion. He’s also calling on the city to drop a lawsuit against the state seeking reimbursement of $30 million the city has spent on trucking sand for emergency repairs to eroding sections of its beach over the past decade.

“We agreed that we would focus on protecting our beaches instead of suing each other.” Rosello said Wednesday.

At the heart of the dispute is the fact that North Wildwood is virtually the only community on the Jersey Shore that has yet to receive a full beach replenishment project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Officials say the delays have caused difficulties in obtaining easements from affected property owners.

Erosion has become so severe in parts of North Wildwood that protective sand dunes have been washed away, leaving homes and businesses vulnerable to flooding and wave damage in the event of a major storm. One day in January, Rosenello posed for photos on the beach with what was left of the dune barely reaching his knees.

The state Department of Transportation proposed an interim replenishment project last summer after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy called erosion in the North Wildwood “shocking”. Rosello said the work went well in the months that followed.

The environmental department refused to comment on the proposed agreement. Rosello predicted it would be approved by the board, signed and sent to the state on Tuesday.

In addition to ending the lawsuit, North Wildwood will contribute $1 million toward the final cost of the federal beach replenishment project when it comes to town and pay $700,000 to the state’s water pollution control fund, the mayor said.

The agreement also lays out a clear regulatory path for North Wildwood to obtain the environmental permits needed to carry out other coastal protection work, including the seawall expansion.

On several occasions, North Wildwood has made emergency repairs, including building a pre-division without a state permit. New Jersey Environmental Protection Commissioner Sean Latourette warned the city in 2023 that the unauthorized work could have more serious consequences if it continued, including the possible loss of future shore protection funding.