A major federal beach replenishment project years in the making for the Wildwoods has collapsed because two communities have effectively withdrawn.
That’s bad news for North Wildwood, which desperately needs reinforcement for its beaches. And it marks another blow to erosion projects at the New Jersey Shore, which received zero federal dollars for replenishment projects this year — the first time that’s happened since 1996.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced Friday that the Hereford Inlet to Cape May Inlet Storm Risk Management Project for Five Mile Island has been officially suspended and that federal funds reserved for the project will be redirected.
The DEP said that because it had lost the cooperation of Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, a federal deadline imposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which was to manage the project, had passed.
“Unfortunately, after years of costly engineering work and many attempts by DEP to to help resolve local disagreements, the project reached an impasse necessitating its termination,” said a letter from the office of DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette to the mayors of Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood and Lower Township.
» READ MORE: Wildwood and Wildwood Crest don’t want to share sand with North Wildwood
The DEP said that the impasse occurred after both Wildwood and Wildwood Crest had previously committed to the project.
The Army Corps plan called for sand to be taken from the wide beaches in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest and brought to North Wildwood.
But earlier this year, the two resort communities said they enjoyed their wide beaches and no longer wished to participate.
North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said Friday afternoon that he had not seen the DEP letter, and could not yet comment.
During a previous commissioners meeting, Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera said the town had become opposed to the project.
“Our beaches are beautiful,” he said. “They’re wide. They’re spacious. When you start engineering as such where you could shrink it, that could cause a lot of problems.”
Although the idea for the project initially came after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, state and federal officials didn’t come up with a plan until 2017.
The plan called for the federal government to pay 65% of the cost, and the state to pay 35%. The project entailed not only help for North Wildwood, but a protective dune across all beaches.
It took years for the DEP to get all the towns to sign off on the project. The DEP said the coast needs to be treated holistically.
“Unfortunately, without this project in place, each community on Five-Mile Island will remain susceptible to coastal dynamics, erosion, and storm events,” said LaTourette’s letter.
This is a developing story and will be updated.