DNREC’s sand bypass system is back online after years of being out of commission, and Friday lawmakers toured the updated facility.
Equipment upgrades to the Indian River Inlet sand bypass system are now complete, assisted by $1.2 million dollars of federal funding originally allocated in 2022.
But DNREC says that finding crew members has been difficult amid a shrinking local blue collar workforce in recent years.
Kathleen Bergin, DNREC’s Program Manager for Field Operations, says those shortages are most problematic during emergencies.
“It limits my capacity to respond quickly to major events. We have had to start outsourcing some of our labor to contractors in trying to get additional work done elsewhere.” she told DPM.
Bergin says that these shortages are also attributable to several factors.
“The prevailing wage right now in Sussex County is like $76 an hour, our field staff is [paid] much less than that. The housing market has been booming, and construction has been booming so getting skilled operators has been difficult to keep up with.” she said.
Bergin notes that in order to deal with staff shortages, DNREC gets help from other agencies and hires contractors, which she says is "significantly" more expensive than if those jobs were done in house.
Congresswoman Sarah McBride argues cost of living is partly to blame, saying if people cannot afford to live in Sussex County, they won’t work in Sussex County.
Bergin points out that while the sand bypass can be run by three people and her crew is now at five, in previous years, that team had 20 members available.
