Florida Ratings

Indicator Type	Info	Status


Beach Access	6	5

Water Quality	8	4

Beach Erosion	9	-

Erosion Response	-	5

Beach Fill	7	-

Shoreline Structures	5	4

Beach Ecology	5	-

Surfing Areas	5	6

Website	8	-

Explain this chart

Florida Beach Fill

Policies

Recognizing the importance of the state's beaches, the Florida legislature in 1986 adopted a posture of protecting and restoring the state's beaches through a comprehensive beach management planning program. Under the program, the Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems evaluates beach erosion problems throughout the state, seeking viable solutions. The primary vehicle for implementing the beach management planning recommendations is the Florida Beach Erosion Control Program, established for the purpose of working in concert with local, state and federal governmental entities to achieve the protection, preservation and restoration of the coastal sandy beach resources of the state. Under the program, financial assistance in an amount up to 50% of project costs is available to Florida's county and municipal governments, community development districts, and special taxing districts, for shore protection and preservation activities located on the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, or Straits of Florida. Through the fiscal year 1997, over $190 million has been appropriated by the legislature for beach erosion control activities.

One way to restore eroded beaches is through beach fill. In a typical beach fill project, sand is collected from an offshore location by a dredge and is piped onto the beach. A slurry of sand and water exits the pipe on the beach; once the water drains away, only sand is left behind. Bulldozers move this new sand until the beach matches the design profile. Beach fill projects are often used to add sand to a system which has been starved by the altered inlets. The projects can provide storm protection benefits for upland properties, and typically have less coastal impacts than the use of shoreline armoring.

Several important environmental criteria apply to beach fill projects. The criteria are contained within the rules http://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/programs/rules.htm
Generally, water quality standards must be met; damage to hard bottoms and seagrasses must be avoided, or minimized and mitigated for; the sand placed must be compatible with the natural beach; and manatee, sea turtle, and nesting shorebird windows and management practices must be implemented.

If projects are done during nesting season or if an incompatable sand supply is used, then there can be negative ecological impacts. On the other hand, if the projects are done with attention to environmental and ecological concerns, they can also restore shorebird and marine turtle habitat. Monitoring includes both physical (width of beach) and biological (ecological parameters) such as planform changes, water quality, nearshore hard bottom and seagrass areas, sea turtles, manatee, shorebirds, etc. This information and much more may be found at the FDEP's Beach Erosion Control Program Web site, which provides information on beach fill programs in Florida.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/programs/bcherosn.htm#Why_Restore_Eroded_Beaches

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has developed a multiyear repair and maintenance strategy to carry out the proper state responsibilities of a comprehensive, long-range, statewide program of beach erosion control; beach preservation, restoration, and nourishment; and storm and hurricane protection. The principles of this strategy are to:

Encourage regional approaches to ensure the geographic coordination and sequencing of prioritized projects;
Reduce equipment mobilization and demobilization costs;
Maximize the infusion of beach-quality sand into the system;
Extend the life of beach nourishment projects and reduces the frequency of nourishment;
Promote inlet sand bypassing to replicate the natural flow of sand interrupted by improved, modified or altered inlets and ports; and
Implement those projects that contribute most significantly to addressing the state’s beach erosion problems.

The Strategic Beach Management Plan (SBMP) documents the specific strategies for constructive actions at inlets and critically eroded beaches consistent with these principles. Projects must have a clearly identifiable beach management benefit consistent with the SBMP; however, proposed strategies developed by FDEP and local government sponsors in the future are still eligible for state funding assistance even if absent from the current SBMP. Resources and opportunities to achieve the strategic goals of the program are discussed in the context of a subregion defined by the boundaries of distinct coastal littoral processes. In addition, the SBMP provides a summary of previous actions taken to address beach erosion within each subregion.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/publications/gen-pub.htm#Strategic_Management_Plan

The November 1999 document Recommended Beach Nourishment Guidelines for the State of Florida and Unresolved Related Issues is available in hard copy from the University of Florida, Coastal & Oceanographic Engineering Program for $5.

Permit conditions for beach fill projects require monitoring that includes ecological parameters.

All fill projects using state funding are required to have public access (Rule 62B-36).
The laws or regulations guiding beach fill include Chapters 161, 253, 373 and 403, Florida Statutes and Chapters 62B-41, 49 and 36 of the Florida Administrative Code.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/publications/gen-pub.htm#Rules

Inventory

A listing of beach fill and other erosion control projects that were proposed and budgeted for FY 2005-2006 (and beyond) is available at: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/programs/pdf/fy-05-06.pdf

Beach Fill data can be found at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/publications/gen-pub.htm#Strategic_Management_Plan
Additional information can be found in permits for specific projects.

An extensive database of beach fill projects - the Beach Erosion Control Project Monitoring Database Information System - was formerly maintained by Florida State University and had a Florida map with links to projects in each county or sub-county region. Each section had a county or area main page, a location map, design parameters, shoreline change plots, volume change plots, hot spots, a performance table and a performance summary. It's not clear what happened to this information.

Summary tables from Economics of Florida's Beaches: The Impact of Beach Restoration (June 2003) provide project-specific and summaries by region of cost information on beach fill projects in Florida since about 1992. Also included are data on the length of beach covered by the project, the disposal volumes and costs for dredging projects.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/publications/pdf/phase1.pdf

Florida has attempted to restore beaches since about 1944. Prior to 1994, Florida had 83.4 miles of beaches where at least one fill project occurred. Between 1994 and 1996, Florida added another twenty miles to their beach maintenance program and now has a total of at least 108.4 miles of restored beaches.

Even before the recent hurricane seasons, Florida’s beaches were severely eroded, with almost 40% listed as critically eroded. Following the hurricanes, Florida began the largest and most costly beach and dune rebuilding program in US history. In the 10 years between 1994 and 2004 the state spent $242 million on beach renourishment. In 2004 and 2005 the state spent approximately $173 million on sand. This was matched with $184 million from the federal government and about $40 million from local governments for a total of over $400 million spent in just two years.

Beach fill projects are typically preceded by a feasibility study. After completion of a project a "Certificate of Completion" is issued and follow-up monitoring is conducted. Florida monitors beach fill projects after sand placement using beach profiles, bathymetry, and aerial photography. Monitoring includes both physical (width of beach) and biological (ecological parameters) such as planform changes, water quality, nearshore hard bottom and seagrass areas, sea turtles, manatee, shorebirds, etc.²⁰

Many beach fill projects in Florida require frequent re-fill. All the inlet-related projects are in this category, typically requiring sand bypassing on an annual basis. Many other beach fill projects are designed to address hotspots and maintenance fill on 7 to 8 year intervals.²¹

Locations with multiple recent "re-fill" projects include:

South Amelia Island 1994, 2002, 2008
Lido Key (Sarasota) 1998, 2002
Ft. Pierce 1999, 2003, 2005
Longboat Key (Sarasota/Manatee) 1997, 2001
Mid-Town (Palm Beach) 1995,2003
Long Key (Pinellas) 1996, 2000
South Boca Raton 1996, 2002
Captiva Island (Lee) 1996, 2005
Anna Maria Island (Manatee) 1993, 2002
Treasure Island (Pinellas) dating back to 1969, with the most recent projects in 1996, 2000, 2004 (see details below)
Duval County 1995, 2005
Delray Beach 1992, 2002, 2005
St John's County 2003, 2005
Brevard County - N Reach 2001, 2005
Brevard County - S Reach 2002, 2005
Martin County 1996, 2005
Palm Beach County - Ocean Ridge 1998, 2005
Pensacola Beach 2003, 2005
Panama City Beach 1999, 2005
Lee County - Bonita Beach 1995, 2004

Details (year, amount of fill) on specific beach fill projects in Pinellas County are as follows:

Sunset Beach
- 1969 - 790,000 cubic yards
- 1972 - 155,000 cubic yards
- 1976 - 380,000 cubic yards
- 1983 - 220,000 cubic yards
- 1986 - 550,000 cubic yards
- 1996 - 51,300 cubic yards
- 2000 - 236,000 cubic yards
- 2004 - 225,000 cubic yards
Upham Beach
- 1980 - 254,000 cubic yards
- 1986 - 98,000 cubic yards
- 1991 - 230,000 cubic yards
- 1996 - 253,000 cubic yards
- 2000 - 281,000 cubic yards
- 2004 - 408,000 cubic yards
Pass-a-Grille Beach
- 1986 - 73,000 cubic yards
- 1991 - 100,000 cubic yards
- 2004 - 95,000 cubic yards

Regarding the fate of the 1996 beach fill, this 1-minute movie shows daily images from October 1996, four months after nourishment, to April 1998, 22 months after nourishment. The camera is looking south along St. Pete Beach. Note the Don CeSar on the horizon. At the beginning, notice the exposed downdrift seawall. Rapid erosion from the project area results in downdrift deposition. Note the shoreline advance at the downdrift seawall. During the second winter season, several storm events cause significant shoreline erosion at the public park. During this winter, the erosion rate was 1.4 ft/day (erosion rates are typically measured in ft/yr). Less than 2 years after nourishment, 83% of the beach fill eroded from Upham; however, the downdrift beaches benefited from this erosion. Upham Beach is an excellent example of a “feeder beach” where sediment is placed on the updrift end of a region intended to receive fill. The fill erodes rapidly from the placement area, but supplies the downdrift beaches.

A key document is the Strategic Beach Management Plan, which is available online at:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/publications/gen-pub.htm#Strategic_Management_Plan

State funding sources for coastal erosion control projects include a designated erosion response fund, sometimes a disaster fund, and occasionally a special appropriations from general revenues. There is generally an annual legislative appropriation.

Florida DEP's funding request for FY 2002-2003 listed 20 "priority projects" for erosion control, fill, and restoration. The total budget for these projects was over $81 million, with the federal, state and local shares being $27 million, $30 million, and $25 million, respectively. The largest projects on this list are Pensacola Beach Restoration ($20 million), Brevard County Beach Restoration ($13.4 million), Broward County Beach Fill ($9.7 million), and Fort Pierce Beach Fill ($8.3 million). An additional 19 "alternative projects" were listed, with a total budget of over $60 million, bringing the proposed combined federal, state, and local budget for all projects to over $141 million.

Florida's beach fill program typically costs around $100 million per year, with the federal government picking up at least half, Florida spending $30 million, and local goverments contributing the rest. The 2004-2005 budget was $113 million for 10 projects at Captiva, Brevard, Hutchinson Island, Longboat Key, Venice, Fort Pierce, Palm Beach, Collier, Boca Raton, and Navarre Beach.

Following the disastrous hurricanes of 2004, there was pressure to immmediately restore damaged beaches to both protect coastal property and protect the tourist-based economy that depends on sandy beaches. There was also considerable discussion in Florida newspapers regarding the advisability of beach fill projects, the costs and benefits involved, and the potential ecological harm that can sometimes be associated with these projects. An excellent series of articles written by Virginia Smith appeared in the Daytona Beach News-Journal in November 2004 that framed the issues.

A $68 million emergency spending package was passed by the Florida legislature in a December 2004 special lawmaking session. Estimates of the costs necessary to restore Florida's scoured beaches are at least $200 million. Some individual property owners are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A $1.9 million beach fill project began at Treasure Shores Park in north Indian River County in January 2005. The sand for that project was obtained from mining on the mainland. In November 2004 the town council of Palm Beach approved the expenditure of $1.2 million of public money to rebuild 2.5 miles of hurricane eroded dune on private property in front of 36 oceanfront condominiums.

Jupiter Island, reportedly the nation's wealthiest town, is asking taxpayers around the country (via the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA) to pay for 90% of the sand removed from their beaches by recent hurricanes. Jupiter Island officials have submitted a request to FEMA for a $9.1 million project to bring in 1.1 million cubic yards of sand. The town's first beach fill project, started in 1973, imported about 3.5 million cubic yards of sand for about five miles of beach. Since then, there have been eight town-sponsored beach fill projects. Restoration work occurred on the southern end of the island following the hurricanes of September 2004.

In March 2005 an article by Suzanne Wentley in TC Palm said that the reef and boulders at Blowing Rocks Preserve were covered with sand. Since the sand was gray rather than brown native sand, there was speculation that the sand covering the reef might have been an unintended consequence of nearby beach fill pojects. This condition was also found to exist at the wormrock reef off Bathtub Reef Beach on Hutchinson Island, based on studies by professor Dan McCarthy at Jacksonville University.

Another article by Ms. Wentley in the TC Palm in June 2005 discussed concerns that a 3.7-mile dune resoration project in St. Lucie County that was completed in April 2005 may have used sand that was not compatible in size or color with natual beach sand. This may be causing an increase in "false crawls" (when sea turtles emerge from the ocean to nest, but return to the water without laying eggs). Erik Martin, a biologist with Ecological Associates, is studying the situation, and a state-contracted consultant, Tampa-based PBS&J, is conducting an in-depth analysis of the environmental effects of the dune restoration.

A further development regarding this project was reported by Ms. Wentley in The Stuart News in October 2005. Following tropical storm Tammy, the dunes in south St. Lucie County were cut in half, although beaches in Martin and Indian River Counties remained largely unchanged. Professor Harold Wanless of Unversity of Miami blamed it on the too-fine sand trucked in for the project. Surfers, divers and fishermen reported poor ocean visibility in the area.

A third article by Ms. Wentley in the TC Palm on July 24, 2005 stated that almost $40 million in federal, state and county funds were planned to be spent in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties to restore the beaches to pre-hurricane conditions and to protect oceanfront homes. The cumulative volume of sand pumped from the ocean floor or trucked in from pits for these projects is more than 2.5 million cubic yards. The projects are as follows:

Indian River County

Ambersands Beach - offshore dredging - 290,000 cubic yards - 2.5 miles - $6 million in FEMA funding
Wabasso Beach to Indian River Shores - trucked-in sand - 217,000 cubic yards - 2.5 miles - $10.3 million in state funding
Sector 7 - offshore dredging - 360,000 cubic yards - 2.5 miles - Est. $6 million in county funding

St. Lucie County

Fort Pierce South Beach - offshore dredging - 640,000 cubic yards - 1.3 miles - $3.5 million in state, federal and county funding
South County Dune Restoration - trucked-in sand - 201,300 cubic yards - 3.66 miles - $4.48 million in state and county funding

Martin County

Shoreline - offshore dredging - 810,000 cubic yards - 4 miles - $8 million in federal funding
Jupiter Island - 250,000 cubic yards - various "hot spots" - "free" as part of St. Lucie inlet navigation project

In September 2005 residents of Satellite Beach and Indian Harbor Beach attended a public meeting to plead with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to initiate a dredging and beach fill project to restore their eroded beaches and protect structures. But the Corps indicated that it would be at least 2009 until a project could be implemented. A representative of Surfrider Foundation who attended the meeting recommended dune repair with truck-hauled sand, stricter permitting of coastal development and removal of stormwater outfalls that drain to the beach as alternative ways of addressing the beach erosion problem.

In October 2005 Brevard County applied for a federal permit to pump 1.8 million cubic yards of sand onto 7.6 miles of beach in 2009. A complicating factor at this location is the existence of 2.4 to 5.6 acres of nearshore natural coquina rock reef that would be buried by a beach fill project. The federal government would only allow that to happen if a new, artificial reef is built to replace the natural reef. Brevard County has suggested the way to do that is with an $8 million to $11 million system of offshore "marine mattresses" topped with huge limestone boulders. Another idea is to recreate the reefs using custom concrete. Fishermen, surfers and biologists are skeptical of the ability of artificial reefs to replicate the habitat provided by the natural reef.

A shortage of suitable quality beach sand is beginning to hamper several potential beach fill projects in Florida. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is looking at a shoal off St. Lucie County as a source of over one million cubic yards of sand for 13 miles of Miami-Dade County Beaches. St. Lucie County residents and environmental activists are concerned that dredging the shoal could endanger fisheries there and make St. Lucie Couty more susceptible to storm surge.

An article by Curtis Morgan, "South Florida Running Out of Sand" appeared in the Miami Herald on March 21, 2007. The article quoted Maimi-Dade environmental director Carlos Espinosa as saying "For practical purposes, we are out of sand." As a result, the hunt for sand is ranging from ancient beach areas now buried inland to islands of the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

Another response to the sand shortage problem is the creation of a Reconnaissance Offshore Sand Search (ROSS) Web site and database. The purpose of the ROSS Web site is to enable the user to make the most informed decision possible when it comes to management of our Florida beaches and coastlines. Data that is both current and easily accessible are the key ingredients that facilitate the management process. Two basic types of data will be used in this effort. Spatial data will be used because the environment is geographic in nature. Tabular data will be used to store information about events which take place at locations stored as spatial data and referred to as spatial features. The database stores information about sand samples. Information associated with sand samples includes, but is not limited to, granulometric data, bathymetry, seismic and sidescan sonar images, core photos, core logs, core descriptions, Munsell Color, metadata (information about the original data), and associated project information. The tool used for manipulating, analyzing and displaying spatial and tabular data is a Geographic Information System (GIS). GIS provides a 'Spatial' view of information. GIS will be used to display and interpret results.

As of January 2007, plans for Indian River County beach fill projects consisted of:

Start late February 2007 on a $6.8 million project dredging 363,000 cubic yards of sand from off Round Island Park and spreading it on Sandpointe south to The Moorings, the county's most eroded beach.
Start March 1 dredging 100,000 cubic yards from a sand trap in Sebastian Inlet and piping it under the Sebastian Inlet bridge to the dune south of the inlet. County Coastal Engineer James Gray stated he was trying to negotiate a price for this job that no longer included 160,000 cubic yards of sand from offshore.

One of issues here was the lack of county monitoring of impacts to rock reef habitat off Ambersand Beach to see how much sand might have smothered it from a 2003 dredge and fill project. Because this was not assessed, DEP was holding up permits for further use of offshore dredging sites.

Private beach fill projects have also occurred in Florida. For instance, Disney financed a beach fill project at their Vero Beach Resort near Wabasso Beach Park in January 2003 that brought in 10,000 tons of sand truckload to restore 1,600 feet of eroded dune. Surfers in the area have noticed that this tends to negatively impact the surf by steepening the offshore profile, making the waves break closer to shore — or not at all. Other observers of the project are concerned about the sand smothering reefs and associated ocean and beach habitat.²² These are common concerns about beach fill projects.

Palm Beach began a 10-year, $42.5 million beach fill program in January 2003. The first project was a $4.4 million effort to fortify 2.5 miles of shoreline. Despite the fact that this shoreline is mostly private, the town of Palm Beach and the state split the cost. The state was willing to fund the project because they concluded that the Palm Beach Inlet caused much of the erosion. The fill plan was modified to protect the popular "rock pile" diving spot after divers and environmentalists complained that the sand would bury marine habitat. If the town wants state money for future projects, they must agree to provide parking and beach access to the public. Plans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve a sand bypassing system may minimize the need for future fill projects in this area.²³

Turbid (cloudy) ocean water, invertebrates buried in the sand, and concern about the deposition of sediments on nearby coral reefs and sea grasses plagued the Palm Beach fill project in late 2005. An article by Antigone Barton in the Palm Beach Post on December 5, 2005 brought up not only those concerns, but overall concerns about the wisdom and fairness of continuing to have taxpayers (most of whom live far away from the coast) pay to repace sand for the benefit of those who live on the coast.

In March 2009 Administrative Law Judge Robert E. Meale ruled that the Town of Palm Beach be denied a Joint Coastal Permit to nourish Reach 8. In March 2008, the Surfrider Foundation, Snook Foundation, and three individuals filed suit against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for approving a Joint Coastal Permit for the Town of Palm Beach to dredge-and-fill Reach 8. The Town of Palm Beach intervened on behalf of the DEP, and the City of Lake Worth and Eastern Surfing Association intervened in opposition of the project. Reach 8 is one of eleven reaches of beach within the County of Palm Beach. Reach 8 extends 1.8 miles and includes beaches within the Town of Palm Beach and the City of Lake Worth. The Town of Palm Beach proposed dredging offshore and filling in 700,000 cubic yards of fill material on Reach 8 directly burying seven acres of nearshore hardbottom reef. The City of Lake Worth maintains a public park within Reach 8 and opted out of the Joint Coastal Permit due to the project's potential to harm their environmental resources and local economy dependent on them. Judge Meale agreed with the petitioners' assertions that the dredge-and-fill project would destroy the beach and coastal environment by directly burying reefs, killing marine life, including endangered seaturtles, and overall destabilizing fishing, diving, surfing and other valuable recreational uses of the area. Judge Meale’s ruling is an order of recommendation to Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Michael Sole, who has 45 days to issue the final order.

As noted above, one of the beaches with a long history of beach fill projects is Delray Beach. In the summer of 1973, approximately 1.6 million cubic yards of sand was placed along 2.7 miles of coastline. Since the initial fill in 1973, the beach has undergone four periodic maintenance events including projects in 1978, 1984, 1992 and 2002. Approximately 6 million cubic yards of sand have been placed on the beach, including all the projects through 2002. Of that volume, surveys conducted by Coastal Planning and Engineering in 2004 located 3.9 million cubic yards, or about 65 percent of the total sand volume still present within the project area. In 2004 and 2005, Delray Beach was battered by major hurricanes. Although the constructed beach provided storm protection such that no waves impacted upon State Road A-1-A or buildings along the restored beach, a "Delray Beach Emergency Beach Restoration" project was deemed necessary and began in early April 2005. The purpose of this Federally funded project supervised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is to restore the estimated 420,000 cubic yards of sand washed away by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004. Local surfers are concerned that removal of sand from the "borrow area" just offshore will negatively affect the surf at Delray Beach.

The state is also planning to give $6.5 million to Volusia County to address erosion problems at New Smyrna Beach south of the Ponce de Leon Inlet, pending completion of a county study of ways to fix the problem. A beach fill project from Sapphire Road south to Anglefish Avenue that would put nearly 800,000 cubic yards of sand from Rattlesnake Island on the beaches was expected to begin in April or May 2005. ²⁴

A $14 million "dune restoration" project along five miles of shoreline at New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County began in early January 2006 and was projected to be complete by mid to late April 2006. The work involved pumping 750,000 cubic yards of sand from an Intercoastal Waterway spoil island onto New Smyrna area beaches, then pushing the sand into 6- to 9-feet high by 30-to-50-feet-wide berms. Disappointingly, a combination of strong northeast winds and high waves in late April-early May 2006 eroded away about 10 to 12 feet of newly-placed sand. Volusia County is still discussing a $20-$40 million dollar long-term beach renourishment project, which would fully renourish eight to nine miles of southern beaches, from Beachway Avenue to Canaveral National Seashore. The work would put 3 to 4 million cubic yards of sand onto the beaches, building them up 6 to 10 feet in elevation.

Broward County's beach fill project mentioned above was set to begin in 2003 with fill of 4.6 miles of beach from Pompano Beach to North Fort Lauderdale and another project covering the area between Port Everglades and Hallandale, beginning in 2005. The Port Everglades to Hallandale Beach project will spread 1.7 million cubic yards of sand along 6.2 miles of shoreline. This project, costing an estimated $41 million, may be the most expensive beach fill project (per mile) ever. One of the goals of this project is to replace a nearly absent beach at Hollywood Beach and protect ocean front condos and hotes there. It is Broward County's 10th beach fill project since 1970. Despite environmental concerns, the increasing costs and the need to go further out to sea to find suitable sand, Broward County is planning to create a perpetual beach fill program.

It was announced in late March 2003 that a beach restoration project scheduled for Jacksonville Beach would not be completed in 2003 and likely would not resume until 2005. This project had previously been halted in January 2003 after tons of oyster shells and other debris were found in material coming from a St. Johns River dredging project. There had been a rush to complete the beach fill prior to the April 15, 2003 effective date of a sea turtle protection law and the May start of the sea turtle nesting season.

A federal spending bill was expected to be approved in November 2005 that finances numerous water resources projects in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast sponsored by Reps. E. Clay Shaw Jr., R-Fort Lauderdale; Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar; and Mark Foley, R-Jupiter. Those projects include:

Palm Beach County beach fill — $2.4 million for the federal share of beach fill projects that were completed in 2002.
Lake Worth Inlet — $1 million for harbor and inlet dredging at the Port of Palm Beach.
St. Lucie Inlet — $1.5 million to complete the plan to improve the inlet with jetty modifications.
Fort Pierce Beach — $150,000 to finish a report to improve sand retention structures along 2.3 miles of shoreline eroded largely because of the federally maintained St. Lucie Inlet.
Another $100,000 was earmarked for a study that would link about 4 miles of beach renourishment projects in Martin and St. Lucie counties north of the Fort Pierce Harbor jetty.

A $23 million beach restoration project began in early 2006 to add 80 to 100 feet of width to 7.2 miles of beach in Walton County and Destin.

Miami-Dade's Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) and the U.S. Army Corps on Engineers completed a $2 million, 70,000 cubic yard beach fill project from South Beach to the waterfront areas between 26th and 29th streets in Miami Beach in early 2008. The project, which widened the beach by about 150 feet, is "expected to last" at least a year. Later in 2008 DERM plans to complete projects near 65th Street, Bal Harbor and Sunny Isles Beach. DERM hopes to complete 13 miles of Miami-Dade beach fill pjects in the next two years.

An interesting but unproven technology called Pressure Equalizing Modules, or PEMs, is being piloted (installation in February 2008) in Hillsboro Beach. Water jets and mechanical drills will bury 6-foot-long plastic tubes 3 feet below the sand in 33 vertical rows from the Port de Mer condos south one mile. The PEMs are designed to let retreating sea water drain through them but leave the sand behind. It will cost $150,000 per year to install and maintain the first mile of PEMs. Kenneth Christensen of the manufacturer, EcoShore International, Inc., expects a wider beach within six to nine months. If PEMs do not slow erosion by at least 25 percent compared to neighboring beaches, Hillsboro Beach will pay nothing.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Jacksonville District manages many shore protection projects and studies in Florida.

Information on beach fill in Florida is also available through Western Carolina University's Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines. A summary documents 361 projects dating from 1944 through 2006, with a total cost of approximately $1.05 billion. Background information and a database with details on individual projects by state can be found at http://psds.wcu.edu/1038.asp

Florida state budgets for beach fill projects over the last few years are:
2000 - $25 million
2001 - $30.8 million
2002 - $34.8 million
2003 - $30 million
2004 - $22.5 million
2005 - $25 million, plus a hurricane supplement of $68.4 million
2006 - $73.3 million

The funding source is the documentary stamp tax, placed into the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund.

Figures cited in an article in USA Today (November 10, 2003) on beach fill indicated that the federal government has spent $887 million over the last 75 years on beach fill projects in Florida.

The Fiscal Year 2010 Civil Works Budget for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides $5.125 billion for water resources projects in the areas of commercial navigation, flood and coastal storm damage reduction, and aquatic ecosystem restoration. A new budget activity this year is Response to Climate Change at Corps Projects, to assess broadly how and where climate change may affect the management of Civil Works projects and to identify options such as changes in operation or other modifications in response to climate change. This budget lists proposed projects by state.

The EPA's global warming impacts Web site notes that the cumulative cost of sand replenishment to protect Florida's coast from a 20-inch rise in sea level by 2100 is estimated at $1.7 billion to $8.8 billion.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/us-florida.html

NOAA's Coastal Services Center has developed a Web site that offers information on all aspects of beach fill. The new Web resource, Beach Nourishment: A Guide for Local Governments, was developed to guide state and local organizations to make informed decisions about fill. The website includes descriptions of coastal geological and ecological processes, discussions of legal and regulatory requirements, information on federal project cost sharing, and a professional dialogue about the pros and cons of fill.

The Caribbean Conservation Corp. in Gainesville is a group that is concerned that massive dredge projects along the Atlantic Coast are being done without looking at the long-term impacts to sea turtle nesting habitat and sand quality on the beach. http://www.cccturtle.org/velador.php?page=velart50

Contact

Paden Woodruff
Department of Environmental Protection
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Building
3900 Commonwealth Boulevard
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000
(850) 922-7703
Email: Paden.Woodruff@dep.state.fl.us

Also check out the FDEP Erosion Control Program website. It provides access to a list of "beach erosion control" contacts in Florida by region/county. There are also project details provided for selected projects in Nassau, Martin, Palm Beach, Dade, Charlotte, Lee and Pinellas Counties.