By Eric Conklin | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A $54 million plan to fortify beaches and dunes across the Wildwoods and Lower Township has been scrapped after local officials failed to resolve a long-running dispute over the project’s scope, state environmental officials said Friday.
The beach protection project between Hereford and Cape May inlets was fully funded by federal and state sources, sparing local taxpayers any cost. Nearly $2.4 million had already been spent on planning and design before it was scrapped.
On Friday, Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette formally notified mayors of the Wildwoods and Lower Township that the long-planned beach and dune project was terminated.
The project would have covered the towns located on Five-Mile Island, which include North Wildwood, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and the Diamond Beach section of Lower Township in Cape May County.
The project aimed to reinforce beaches and protect homes from future storm surges—a priority since Superstorm Sandy devastated coastal towns and spurred demands for stronger shoreline defenses.
Leaders in both Wildwood and Wildwood Crest have expressed disagreement with the project’s blueprint.
Wildwood Crest was concerned that sand from its own beaches would be moved to other parts of Five-Mile Island as part of the beach replenishment plan, which would shrink the borough’s beach area, leaving less space for sunbathers and potentially hurting tourism.
Borough officials moved earlier this year to withdraw from the project.
The money will instead be repurposed for other post-Sandy resiliency efforts, LaTourette said.
“Unfortunately, after years of costly engineering work and many attempts by DEP to help resolve local disagreements, the project reached an impasse necessitating its termination,” LaTourette said, in a letter to the shore leaders.
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