Overview
- North Wildwood filed suit in Cape May County Superior Court alleging the state breached obligations tied to the long-planned beach and dune project.
- NJDEP suspended the Army Corps effort after an Aug. 30 decision deadline and a Nov. 7 cutoff passed without full municipal support.
- Wildwood Crest disputes that it withdrew from the project, saying it sought revisions, while NJDEP cited a lack of cooperation from Wildwood and Wildwood Crest.
- Funds reserved for the work will be redirected to other New Jersey coastal projects as NJDEP commissions a study on offshore sand sources that may carry higher costs and uncertain federal approval.
- The canceled plan envisioned pumping about 1.3 million cubic yards of sand to build engineered dunes across Five Mile Island with 65% federal and 35% state funding, and North Wildwood seeks damages including reimbursement of roughly $29 million in emergency erosion costs and the lost $54 million in protection funding.