N.J. DEP commissioner fires back at N. Wildwood after mayor posts signs blaming him for beach erosion

The commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection fired off a strongly worded letter Thursday to North Wildwood’s mayor, who had posters with pictures of the commissioner and Gov. Phil Murphy posted at all beach entrances this week, blaming them for the Shore town’s erosion woes.

In response, DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette contended in his letter that the Shore community’s “repeated illegal and environmentally destructive activities” to reshape or alter dunes, under the guidance of Mayor Patrick Rosenello, threatens to cause more erosion. The agency promises to “pursue aggressive enforcement action” that could result in “significant penalties,” LaTourette wrote.

He said the state has committed millions to projects for North Wildwood and expressed frustration at the town’s continued violation of DEP orders — actions he said no other towns are taking on their own. The DEP has the authority to regulate the state’s valuable coastline and issue permits for work that fit in with an overall plan to protect beaches.

“While an important subject of active DEP intervention, the city’s erosion concerns are not entirely unique along the New Jersey coast,” an exasperated LaTourette wrote. “The city’s flagrant disregard for the law, however, stands apart.”

It’s the latest in a war of words between the DEP and North Wildwood in years of dispute over erosion that came to head in January when the Shore town filed a civil suit against the DEP for $21 million.

On Tuesday, North Wildwood officials had signs posted at every beach entrance singling out LaTourette and Murphy, a Democrat, for what the town says is failure to act on dune erosion. “These two are directly responsible for the state’s inaction on replenishing North Wildwood’s beaches,” the sign reads.

» READ MORE: N. Wildwood puts signs at all beaches urging Gov. Murphy to fix dune erosion, latest move in feud

Rosenello, a Republican, told The Inquirer that the signs were a last-ditch effort after the approval of the state’s $54.5 billion budget for 2024, which includes an $8.3 billion surplus. North Wildwood, working with Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D., Burlington, Camden), failed in a request to have $20 million included for the town’s beach replenishment.

North Wildwood did get DEP permission to perform some emergency work before Memorial Day, but, according to the DEP, expanded the scope without telling the state.

“I was disappointed to receive this letter,” Rosenello wrote in an email to The Inquirer, calling the letter “threatening” with “misleading statements.”

“For reasons that are unclear to me the many hours of meetings and discussions on this funding mechanism failed to result in the funding being included in the state budget,” Rosenello wrote. “The fact remains, however, that North Wildwood has an urgent shore protection need now. … The NJDEP bears complete responsibility for the fact that North Wildwood is the only oceanfront community in the state that is not the beneficiary of an NJDEP project.”

In his letter this week, LaTourette said North Wildwood continued reshaping dunes on its own in June without a required review and approval. He said the actions “were in violation of both the state’s environmental laws and the February 2023 Superior Court order issued in the ongoing litigation between the DEP and the city.”

Specifically, crews in North Wildwood began reshaping oceanfront dunes on June 5, between 12th and 16th Avenues, after a high tide and later filed a “deficient after-the-fact emergency authorization request” but continued to work anyway, according to the letter. The DEP later denied the request.

LaTourette said the “unauthorized regulated activities have needlessly disturbed the dunes’ protective capacity by further decreasing the height and volume of the dunes.”

He continued: “Oceanfront dunes are an irreplaceable feature of the natural environment possessing outstanding protective value. Dunes are a dynamic natural phenomenon that help protect lives and property in adjacent landward areas, and provide a buffer from effects of storms, flooding, and erosion. The city’s continued modification and interruption of the natural processes along the beachfront reduces the dunes’ protective capacity.”

LaTourette seemed personally stung by the town’s actions, noting he had a “cordial” call on June 1 with Rosenello about ways to protect the Shore.

The commissioner has given the town until July 14 to submit a draft plan and restore or replace the dunes disturbed during the unauthorized work. He also gave the town a Sept. 30 deadline to complete the mitigation.

It is the latest in a series of actions the DEP has taken against North Wildwood in recent years. Tension grew in December 2022 after the DEP sued North Wildwood, seeking to stop it from buttressing its dune system with what the state calls an illegal 400-foot steel bulkhead the city planned to install to prevent further storm-related erosion.

North Wildwood’s beaches were hammered by nor’easters in 2022, including the remnants of Hurricane Ian in October.

Town officials asked the DEP for an emergency authorization to install the bulkhead, reshape dunes between 13th and 16th Avenues, tear out some decking, and erect Jersey barriers to keep people out.

The state approved most of the request but said no to a new bulkhead at 15th Avenue and regrading of dunes because there was no immediate threat of “loss of life or property” and because the new infrastructure could make erosion worse.

Regardless, town officials attempted to tackle the erosion on their own and then sued the DEP, though the bulkhead was never installed.

A larger issue also looms.

After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and DEP began crafting an anti-erosion project that North Wildwood says it desperately needs. The community is on a barrier island known as Five Mile Beach, which contains North Wildwood, Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Diamond Beach (which is part of Lower Township). North Wildwood, once the largest beach in the state, has suffered more significant erosion than other towns.

LaTourette noted in his letter that he managed to get all towns this year to agree to the plan, ending a six-year battle. LaTourette said the DEP has committed $10 million to the project, which is under design and includes an engineered dune system and replenished beaches. Construction is anticipated by spring 2025.

The commissioner said the state has also committed $6.7 million for a seawall spanning from Third to Seventh Avenue.

“To be clear, DEP has repeatedly advised the city that illegal measures that you believe will combat erosion (e.g., destruction of dunes, construction of illegal bulkheads) may, in fact, make matters worse. DEP has provided the city access to coastal engineering experts, showed patient forbearance on the enforcement of egregious city conduct,” LaTourette wrote.

Rosenello said, however, in his email that North Wildwood is in need of the beach project immediately, “not two years from now, which is the latest estimate for the 10-year delayed federal project.”