Posted on December 2, 2024
Will the hatchet finally be buried in the sand?
Only time will tell.
One Jersey Shore town and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection are expected to soon end a decade-long battle that’s so far meant millions of dollars in fines and litigation, as well as an impromptu sea wall construction, several letters and plenty of emergency beach work.
North Wildwood’s City Council is expected to approve a “global settlement” agreement Tuesday that would rectify all existing disputes between the state and the city, Mayor Patrick Rosenello told NJ Advance Media on Saturday.
“This really goes back to when Governor (Phil) Murphy got involved in the spring. At the time, we were working on the emergency beach replenishment project and he had indicated that he wanted to have a global settlement to all of the outstanding issues,” Rosenello, a Republican, said on the phone.
Noting how the city wanted the same, Rosenello said those settlement conversations continued and, like the emergency beach repairs themselves, have held up well since the spring.
Following Tuesday’s vote, if approved, Rosenello said the NJDEP will have to approve and finalize the settlement.
Spokespeople with the state department could not be immediately reached Saturday, but in the past have declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
