Another year of construction has begun with the break in the weather. The Sand Dune Protection and Management Act (SDPMA) protects critical dunes  from activities that damage or destroy the dunes. The DEQ has always depended on citizens to report violations of the SDPMA. Now because of significant reductions of budget and staff, they are even more dependent on citizens.

 

You can see the status of current DEQ permits for the critical dunes areas at the DEQ website. Also, your local building inspector can tell you if a DEQ permit is in effect.

If you want to report a violation, call the DEQ office for the area in which the violation has occurred. See the map of geographic areas covered by each DEQ regional office.

The DEQ site has maps of the Critical Dune Areas organized by township within the state. These are helpful in determining if a property is located in the critical dunes, though it may be necessary to contact the DEQ to verify the exact extent of critical dunes.

If you want to report a violation to the DEQ anonymously, or have questions regarding permitting, you can email violations@sosdunes.org. Someone will respond by email. Or include a telephone number where you can be reached and someone will call you to follow-up. All communications will be confidential.