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Margate, NJ To Oppose State-Mandated Dunes Enhancement Project

By David Madden

MARGATE, N.J. (CBS) -- Voters in the South Jersey town of Margate this week approved a move for the municipality to oppose a plan by the State of New Jersey to install protective dunes on the beach.

How far that fight will go remains an open question.

The state wants to put those dunes in every shore town, and most have agreed.  Margate hasn't, leading state officials to act.

"We have proceeded with an administrative order that allows us to take the easements for this project, which is in the public benefit," says Larry Hajna, with the state's Department of Environmental Protection.

Margate mayor Michael Becker is among those who oppose what the state and the US Army Corps of Engineers want to do.

"Margate has bulkheads along the length of its beaches, and there are lots of us who think that bulkheads would provide enough protection," he told KYW Newsradio today.

Those bulkheads mostly worked against the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy.

The city has now brought in former congressman Rob Andrews as their attorney on this issue.  Meetings are planned in hopes of avoiding a court battle.

 

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