NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. - A decadelong conflict over the condition of a Cape May County resort town's beaches, involving tens of millions of dollars in litigation and fines, could come to an end soon.
Patrick Rosenello, the mayor of North Wildwood, says his town has reached an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to drop claims on both sides and move forward with measures to widen beaches in the community.
The agreement, which is up for a vote Tuesday by North Wildwood's council, would resolve all outstanding disputes between the parties, the Republican mayor said. The tentative timing of the replenishment is sometime in 2025, he said.
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The agreement includes canceling the $12 million New Jersey has fined North Wildwood for unauthorized beach repairs that the state says could actually worsen erosion. It also calls for the city to drop a lawsuit against the state seeking reimbursement for the $30 million it has spent trucking in sand for emergency repairs to eroded sections of its beach over the past decade.
"We agreed that we will concentrate on protecting our beaches instead of suing each other," Rosenello said Wednesday.
At the root of the dispute is the fact that North Wildwood is virtually the only Jersey Shore community that has yet to receive a full beach replenishment project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Officials say difficulty in getting easements from affected property owners has contributed to the delay.
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Erosion had become so bad in parts of North Wildwood that protective sand dunes were obliterated, leaving homes and businesses vulnerable to flooding and wave damage in the event of a major storm, At one point in January, Rosenello posed for photos on the beach with what was left of a dune barely reaching his knees.
The state Department of Transportation did an interim replenishment project last summer after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy called the erosion in North Wildwood "shocking." Rosenello said that work has held up well in the ensuing months.
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Erosion along the shore is only getting worse and, it has officials in North Wildwood worried as the busy summer season approaches.
The environmental department declined to comment on the proposed agreement. Rosenello predicted it will be approved by the council and signed and sent to the state Tuesday.
In addition to ending the litigation, North Wildwood will contribute $1 million to the eventual cost of the federal beach replenishment project once it arrives in the city, and will pay $700,000 into a state water pollution control fund, the mayor said.
The agreement also lays out a clear regulatory path for North Wildwood to obtain the environmental permits it needs to carry out other shore protection work including extension of a sea wall.
On several occasions, North Wildwood carried out emergency repairs, including construction of an earlier bulkhead without approval from the state. Shawn LaTourette, New Jersey’s environment protection commissioner, warned the town in 2023 that unauthorized work could have more serious consequences if it continues, including potential loss of future shore protection funding.