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By Wayne Parry

The Associated Press

NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. 鈥� A beach town that is defying New Jersey鈥檚 order not to shore up its eroding sand dunes is suing the state for $21 million.

That鈥檚 how much North Wildwood says it spent over the past decade trucking in sand as part of an ultimately futile effort to hold back the waves.

Meanwhile, North Wildwood is聽being sued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection聽for defying a state order not to make emergency repairs to the dunes following several storms this past fall.

The city filed its answer to that litigation last week when it asked a judge to order the state to pay North Wildwood $21 million, and to allow the city to immediately build a bulkhead along a section of the beach where the town says 75 percent of the dune has been washed away.

鈥淲e are now at the point where one moderate storm or even just a couple smaller storms will result in a breach鈥� of the dunes, James Verna, North Wildwood鈥檚 project engineer, stated in the lawsuit. 鈥淭here is only a few feet left of dune protection between the ocean and North Wildwood鈥檚 critical infrastructure. Simply put, what little beach and dune system that remains … will be unable to withstand the impending nor鈥檈aster and winter storm seasons.鈥�

The DEP last week declined to comment on the lawsuit. But in past correspondence with North Wildwood, the agency has said that no emergency condition exists, and warns that the type of work proposed by the city could actually make erosion even worse.

The city鈥檚 counterclaim is 鈥渁 damning indictment of the incredible lack of professionalism and scientific integrity at the NJDEP,鈥� Mayor Patrick Rosenello said. 鈥淲e are dealing with a real-life emergency that has the potential to put public safety at risk and damage public and private property.鈥�

Rosenello faulted the state鈥檚 data collection, which he said was performed by an unlicensed individual using 鈥渁mateur equipment鈥� that can attain no more accuracy than a phone app.

The dispute involves damage to some North Wildwood beaches when the remnants of Hurricane Ian passed by in October, chewing huge chunks out of protective sand dunes.

The agency denied a request by the city to perform emergency work to shore up the dunes, but聽the city did it anyway, prompting a December lawsuit from the state.

North Wildwood is ready to start building the bulkhead. On Thursday afternoon, piles of steel sat on the sand along with a giant crane and other heavy equipment. Erosion at the site appeared worse than it was in October, when the city first acted unilaterally to make temporary repairs to the dune by pushing piles of sand up against it.

鈥淚t really is touch and go,鈥� Rosenello said. In the event of a serious storm, he added, the city will begin installing the bulkhead 鈥渦nless the judge tells us not to.鈥�

The parties will be in court on Jan. 17 to present their preliminary cases to a judge. But North Wildwood officials have proposed a site visit beforehand by all parties, including Superior Court Judge Michael Blee.

While most of the Jersey Shore鈥檚 127-mile coastline got replenished beaches in the years after Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, North Wildwood did not, Rosenello said. The city is part of a proposed multi-town federal and state beach replenishment project also involving Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and Lower Township.

But numerous legal and real estate agreements must be executed before that can happen, and that project likely can鈥檛 start until at least fall 2024, the state estimated in August.

In the meantime, North Wildwood has spent millions of dollars each year to truck tons of sand from neighboring Wildwood, home to some of New Jersey鈥檚 widest beaches. The most recent bill was $3.8 million, the mayor said.

The state also noted that North Wildwood continues to flout a 2020 order to restore 12 acres of mature, vegetated dunes that were removed for a different unauthorized seawall project.