Beach Restoration Initiatives along the 30A Corridor
Updated August 5, 2008
The TDC continues permitting for a beach restoration project for the 30A Corridor. As previously reported, the sand source investigation has been completed. There are two locations off the South Walton coast, which have sand that is similar in size and composition to the native sand. The sand color is slightly darker at 7/2 on the color scale (8/1 is the native sand ranking). Greg Stone, LSU professor and consulting geologist, has stated that the sand will bleach to the same color of the natural beach over time.
Step two is to obtain permits. In June, we received a third Request for Additional Information (RAI) from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). As of this time, there is still no acceptance of the proposed four project areas; however, we continue to provide information from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to bolster our case. Based on work conducted in the development of our response, it became apparent that more time was needed to formulate a thorough response. Therefore, the submission of our response to the RAI will be in August.
In May, the Panama City Field Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mailed out the public notice of the project to affected property owners along 30-A. Suggested change (In response to questions from property owners we have updated the www.protecwaltoncountybeaches.com web site, including the FAQ section.) Finally, the project is in review by both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. To date, no additional information is available regarding the Supreme Court Hearing or its impact on the permitting process.
As voted on by the state legislature in April, the budget for the FDEP’s Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems for beach management activities is just over $27.8million. Unfortunately, Walton County was not included in this funding as we were much lower ranked in order of priority than other projects around the state. This is also true for some other projects in the Panhandle. Suggested change – When we are ready to proceed with the nourishment and currently funded projects are not ready for construction, it will be our intention to request reallocation of funding.
In July, we were notified that Senators Martinez and Nelson were successful in securing a $561,000 line item in the United State Senate’s Energy and Water Appropriations bill for the ongoing funding of the Walton County Federal Shore Protection Project. This was the result of outreach efforts and information provided by the County and TDC through both Brad Pickel and Marlowe and Company. This is only the first step in the process, but it is a necessary step. It is highly unlikely that this bill will make it through the next four approval levels and be signed by the President due to the upcoming election and partisan politics. To that end, we will continue to monitor the progress of this legislation in hopes of having the seventh consecutive successful appropriations request.
The timeline for the permitting process is dependent on three important factors:
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Permitting - The review by three federal agencies, and two state agencies can take up to several years. For example, it took two years to receive all permitting for the western Walton County project. Delays included administrative hearings and lawsuits filed by affected owners. To date, permitting has been ongoing for over 12 months.
All technical information for the Phase 2 Beach Restoration for the 30A corridor was collected and analyzed during the past three years; the most time consuming portion of the data collection and analysis was finding offshore sand resources to place onto the beach. The technical information and sand source findings served as the design basis for the permit application that was submitted for review in July 2007. Permit review is ongoing; however, the permit file has not yet been deemed complete and ready for final review by the FDEP as we have received two Requests for Additional Information (RAI). We anticipate additional RAI’s over the next few months as we move through the permitting process. |
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Funding – The project is estimated to cost between $40-60 million. All funding
sources for the project have not been identified at this time. In addition to bed tax revenues dedicated to beach restoration, the TDC continues to pursue state and
federal grants for the project and will research all funding opportunities that are available. With state grant funding and limited TDC bed tax dollars available, the
remaining balance for the project, approximately $30-50 million, will need to be raised. TDC bed taxes for beach nourishment are already pledged to secure a $10
million loan for the Western Walton County beach restoration project.
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Litigation – A lawsuit began in 2005 during the Western Walton County beach
restoration project by a group of homeowners who are questioning ownership rights. On April 19, 2007, the Florida State Supreme Court held a hearing to decide
the case. The outcome of this lawsuit will directly impact the future of this project. A ruling in favor of the owners group may lead to a lengthy delay or halt the project all together. No decision has been made to date. |
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The TDC continues to move through the process as effectively and efficiently as
possible with a likely start date in late 2009 or 2010. This start date is contingent on achieving all three factors positively and expeditiously.
More information will be provided as it becomes available on www.protectwaltoncountybeaches.com. |
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