NJ fines defiant shore town $12M over unapproved beach work

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (AP) — The sandstorm being waged between New Jersey environmental officials and a defiant shore town bolstering its dunes without state permission is intensifying. The Department of Environmental Protection has fined North Wildwood over $12 million for unauthorized work along its beachfront, including the destruction of vegetated sand dunes and wetlands and the construction of a bulkhead. North Wildwood is suing the state for $21 million for failing to clear the way for what its leaders call a badly needed beach replenishment project. But that project appears to be closer at hand: the last two towns that needed to give approval for the work agreed to it on Wednesday, and an announcement of when the beaches might be widened is expected soon.