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NORTH WILDWOOD, N. J. (AP) — A New Jersey coastal town that engaged in a legal war with the state over the tens of millions of dollars it spent trying, most of the time unsuccessfully, to contain the ocean is now more vulnerable than ever.
A recent winter storm destroyed part of the sand dunes in North Wildwood, leaving tiny piles about the size of a child’s sand castle to protect a popular resort town with $2.5 billion worth of private property, and at least that much in government buildings and infrastructure.
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New Jersey has fined the town $12 million for unauthorized beach repairs that it says could worsen erosion, while the city is suing to recoup the $30 million it has spent trucking sand to the site for over a decade.
As they await a trial that settles things amid climate changes that are leading to rising sea levels and more intense storms, the fate of North Wildwood is a stark reminder that in the war between man and nature, in the end, nature wins.
“This is the most vulnerable point ever,” said Mayor Patrick Rosenello. “We don’t even want a typhoon anymore. During normal high tides, water rises and flows through the domain where this dune used to be.
He walked along the beach where the surging surf punched a hole in the dunes, completely obliterating them for about 20 feet (6 meters). On either side, all that remained were sand piles that barely reached his knees. Elsewhere along the beachfront, dunes that had been about 18 feet (5.5 meters) high last summer were less than half that height — and much lower than that in numerous places.
Previously, the city said it had spent $21 million transporting sand for emergency maintenance of its beaches. Since then, that amount has increased to $30 million, Rosenello said.
But trucking across the sand is no longer an option, the mayor said, adding that erosion has created choke problems along the beach that are too narrow to allow truck sales.
North Wildwood applied to the state for emergency permission to build a metal bulkhead along the most eroded segment of its shoreline, something that had already been done in two other places.
But the state’s Department of Environmental Protection tends to oppose walls as a long-term solution, noting that hard structures cause sand to clear them, which can accelerate and worsen erosion.
The agency prefers the sort of beach replenishment projects carried out for decades by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where massive amounts of sand are pumped from offshore onto eroded beaches, widening them and creating sand dunes to protect the property behind them.
Virtually the entire 127-mile (204-kilometer) New Jersey coastline has received such projects. But in North Wildwood, legal approvals and property easements from private landowners have thus far prevented one from happening.
Although the last two cities called upon to approve a sand replenishment task did so 11 months ago, the task still needs the final green light. Once that goal is achieved, the works will likely take two years, officials say.
On several occasions, North Wildwood made emergency repairs, adding the structure of an earlier bulkhead without state approval. Shawn LaTourette, New Jersey’s environmental cover commissioner, warned the city last July that unauthorized paintings could have more serious consequences if it continues, adding that potential loss of funding for long-term shoreline coverage.
LaTourette wrote that the city “has continually engaged in destructive and illegal habits in the interest of tourism and, supposedly, public safety. This is a mistake and it will have to stop. “
The Ministry of Environmental Protection says heavy sand-moving devices have weakened and lowered the height of the dunes, worsening the situation and destroying the habitat of plants and animals.
But North Wildwood sees itself as an existential risk with an unprotected coastline.
“Our concern is that there may not be any more Wildwood left,” said Maureen Lipert, who was walking on the beach Monday. “All of North Wildwood could be gone if the water keeps coming. “
“Water will triumph in our hotels and motels,” added another resident, Kim Milligan. “New houses are being built here every day. Our homes will be destroyed. »
After Superstorm Sandy devastated the New Jersey coast in 2012, the Corps introduced a program to rebuild dunes along virtually the entire coast. Numerous clinical studies have shown that riparian communities with dunes that already protect them face Sandy much more than those that don’t. .
Sand replenishment has been the government’s preferred approach to protecting shorelines for decades. Critics say it’s inherently unnecessary to keep pumping sand onto shore, which will inevitably be washed away. But Congress continues to allocate money to that work, arguing that it’s effective. in the protection of lives and property, not to mention supporting the tourism industry.
Milligan, who lives several blocks from the ocean, only half-jokingly spotted a possible glimmer of hope if the worst were to happen in North Wildwood.
“I’ll have beachfront access,” she said.
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AP video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
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Follow Wayne Parry on X, Twitter, www. twitter. com/WayneParryAC
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