§ Â 6803. Authority to enhance, preserve and protect beaches.

(a) Authority to enhance, preserve, and protect public and private beaches within the State is vested solely in the Department, except as pertains to archaeological resources on beaches, which are regulated by the Department of State, Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Chapter 53 of this title.

(b) The Department shall prevent and repair damages from erosion of public beaches. To this end, the Department shall, when it deems necessary, provide, construct, reconstruct and maintain groins, jetties, banks, dikes, dunes, bulkheads, seawalls, breakwaters and other facilities or make any other repairs or take any other measures along or upon any public beach or shoreline area in this State. All structures, devices and facilities existing now or in the future which are devoted to the enhancement, preservation and protection of beaches shall be under the sole jurisdiction, management and control of the Department.

(c) The Secretary of the Department shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

(d) Any person or persons, jointly or severally, or any taxpayer, or any officer, department, board or bureau of the State, aggrieved by any decision of the Secretary, may appeal as provided by law to the Superior Court in and for the county in which the activity in question is wholly or principally located by filing a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. Any such appeal shall be on the record and shall be perfected within 30 days of the receipt of the decision of the Secretary.

(e) The Court may affirm, reverse or modify the Secretary’s decision. The Secretary’s findings of fact shall not be set aside unless the Court determines that the record contains no substantial evidence that would reasonably support the findings. If the Court finds that additional evidence should be taken, the Court may remand the case to the Secretary for completion of the record.