Shore town sees political revenge in dune destruction flap

摘要

New Jersey's threat to make a shore town rip out a sea wall and other oceanfront structures feels like political retribution, North Wildwood officials say. North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello, a Republican, said yesterday it's more than a coincidence that shortly after he criticized Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's reopening of the shore economy amid the coronavirus outbreak, the state Department of Environmental Protection hit his town with numerous violations notices and threats of costly repair work. North Wildwood officials say the sea wall was built without a required coastal construction permit - but with full knowledge of state officials - only after years of requests for storm protection were ignored by state and federal authorities, which the city says ultimately led to storms wrecking the dunes and wetlands. In a statement yesterday, Rosenello said the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Environmental Protection missed deadlines and failed to build a beach protection project in the area for over six years, leading to serious erosion and destruction of dunes. He said the town had spent $10 million of its own money trucking in sand to repair the damage.