Eroded Beach Fixed At Jersey Shore Despite DEP Denial

NORTH WILDWOOD, NJ — Early in October, the remnants of Hurricane Ian tore up the Jersey Shore, leaving large cliffs on the beaches where protective sand dunes once were.

North Wildwood was one of those affected towns. The city reached out to the Department of Environmental Protection to do emergency reconstruction of the sand piles, and the DEP said no.

But North Wildwood repaired the dunes anyway, and also plans to build a sea wall near the beach, which the state also rejected, according to the Associated Press.

It will likely end up in court, with North Wildwood accruing fines from the state, but North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello is confident in his decision.

“There is no option under which we don’t protect our community,” Rosenello told the Associated Press. “That is just not on the table. We will do what we need to do to protect ourselves.”

Beach erosion is a big problem at the Shore and particularly in North Wildwood, as its beaches are slightly narrower than neighboring Wildwood's.

Per the AP, the DEP said on Oct. 7 that the city could place concrete “Jersey barriers” along dunes to temporarily protect them, as the state said there was no imminent threat. The DEP forbade North Wildwood from “touching the dunes without a detailed review and approval of proper plans and permits,” the DEP said.

Last week, North Wildwood openly defied the state, sending bulldozers on the beach to push the sand back, the AP reported.

Rosenello told AP that there was in fact imminent danger to people, as there was a 15-foot drop-off from the eroded dune's top to the beach below, and another storm was likely to completely breach the dune and flood nearby homes and buildings.

He also ordered supplies for the sea wall which could arrive by the end of November, the AP said.

“It’s not a matter of if this dune is going to collapse again or be washed away, it’s a question of when,” he told the AP.

Millions are spent each year on beach replenishment, trucking sand from Wildwood into North Wildwood.

“Every other town in the state of New Jersey that needs a federal/state shore protection project has one except for North Wildwood,” Rosenello told CBS News after the emergency request was sent to the DEP. “They have not only a moral obligation, they have a legal obligation to undertake this project, and quite frankly, that’s what we’re demanding of them, and we expect from them.”