The Beach Issue — Renourishment

Last year, state, federal and local governments spent about $90 million pumping sand onto Florida beaches where it had washed away and will wash away again. The spending encompassed some 20 beach renourishment projects.

The economic importance of Florida's beaches means there's virtually no debate these days -- at least within the state -- about the wisdom of replacing sand, and then having to replace it again a few years or a few storms later. "The economic benefits of beach restoration are real," says Stan Tait, president of the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association in Tallahassee.

But crucial questions remain about beach renourishment in Florida: How many more communities will seek the costly programs? And will funding remain as durable as demand, which has grown from three projects in 1991 to the nearly 25 expected next year.

Brevard County's 50-year, $148-million beach renourishment program is a good microcosm of the trends for such programs throughout Florida. First, the need to pump sand onto eroded beaches, including those in Brevard south of Cape Canaveral, is a problem created mostly by man. Some 19 major inlets along Florida's east coast -- most either created or enhanced for commercial shipping or recreational boating -- severely affect the flow of some 600,000 cubic yards of sand that move southward each year from Georgia.

The inlets trap some sand on their northern sides; other sand falls into the inlets deep channels, which must be constantly dredged. Meanwhile, the northeast winds that help build up beaches to the north of the inlets cause serious erosion to the beaches that lie to the south.

"There's no question that 80% to 85% of the erosion along the east coast of Florida is caused by inlets," says Robert G. Dean, professor in the department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida. (By contrast, most of the erosion on beaches on the Gulf coast is caused by storms.) In Brevard's case, cutting the
inlet through dunes south of the cape to create Port Canaveral in the early 1950s produced massive erosion south of the inlet.

The Bulk of the
Beach Work
When Brevard County selected the lowest bid for its beach renourishment project, the winner shouldn't have surprised anyone. Among the handful of dredge firms that specialize in beach restoration, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corp. gets the lion's share of the work.

Over the years, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company has restored numerous beaches in Florida, including Miami Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Captiva Island, Boca Raton, Jupiter Inlet, Palm Beach and Pensacola Beach.

Founded in 1890, Great Lakes also dredges shipping channels and builds docks and terminals. Last year, the company had revenue of $363 million and a profit of $13 million. Revenue from beach renourishment work was $87.3 million.

Renourishment projects involve dredging sand from the ocean floor and pumping it up onto the beach. The cost is determined by the amount of sand used and how far away from the beach it is located. Finding a large enough stock of suitable sand is one of the biggest hurdles of a renourishment project, says Kevin Bodge, a coastal engineer at Olsen Associates, which advised Brevard on its project.

For the Brevard project, Great Lakes, at Bodge's suggestion, used an innovative method called double-handling to renourish the beach. First, a specially designed dredge ship suctioned the sand from the ocean floor about four miles offshore from Cape Canaveral up into its hold. The vessel, with a hinged hold that opens from the bottom, then deposited the sand onto the ocean floor next to another dredge just offshore of the project area. A second vessel pumped the sand through a large pipe onto the beach. As an area was covered, crews added pipe down the beach until the project was completed.
Few questions
Brevard's beach renourishment project typifies the rest of the state in another key way: It has become such an accepted part of the economic infrastructure that few question the economic necessity or see other options.

By the time the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a modest sand-pumping plan in the mid-1990s, Brevard's popular beaches had begun disappearing. Several structures, undermined by the encroaching waves, had tumbled into the sea. "We had 40 years of erosion due to the inlet," says Virginia Barker, a manager of Brevard's beaches and natural resources. "We needed to restore the beach to a healthy width."

Another example: By the mid-1970s, Miami Beach almost didn't exist at high tide; today, the annual revenue generated from foreign visitors to Miami Beach exceeds the entire $50 million spent since 1976 to restore and maintain the beach.

Like the two dozen or so other ongoing beach renourishment projects in Florida, Brevard's program is expensive, complicated and never finished. The process of applying to the Army Corps for a renourishment permit can take eight to 12 years, involving feasibility studies, cost-benefit analyses, environmental impact studies and big fees to attorneys and consultants who can steer an application through the bureaucracy.

Brevard's restoration effort, involving some 20.8 miles of beach, from the Port Canaveral inlet south to Spessard Holland Park, consists of three separate projects. The north reach -- from the inlet to Patrick's Air Force Base -- included 9.4 miles of beach and required 2.8 million cubic yards of sand. It cost $22.7 million. The south reach -- from Indialantic Beach to Spessard Holland Park -- included 3.8 miles and 1.6 million cubic yards of sand. It cost $13.8 million.

The middle reach, a 7.6-mile stretch through Satellite Beach, wasn't restored because of environmental concerns. That portion of the coast has a hard, rocky bottom and has been designated by state and federal fish and wildlife agencies as an "essential fish habitat." Meanwhile, Brevard's dredging contractor, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock ("The Bulk of the Beach Work," page 84), had to complete the last of the project by early May, before the sea turtle nesting season begins.

While the major restoration work is complete, it's only the beginning of what will become an ongoing process. Under a 50-year contract with the Corps, Brevard County's beaches will have to be renourished every six years, depending on how much sand gets swept away. (After one year, the north reach portion of the project still had 93.7% of the sand that had been deposited.) It's anticipated that it will cost $148 million (in 1999 dollars) over the next 50 years for Brevard County to keep up with the erosion of its beaches.

Funding uncertainty
Having made beach renourishment an essential piece of its infrastructure, the question for Florida becomes one of sustainable financing -- particularly as demand for it increases.

The federal government through appropriations to the Corps of Engineers generally picks up the biggest portion, typically about 65%, while state and local communities equally split the remaining 35%.

But getting federal money is always an annual nail-biter. Historically, the White House, regardless of party, is reluctant to appropriate funds for beach restoration, and senators from landlocked states generate annual proposals to slash the federal share of a beach renourishment project from 65% to 35%.

So far, members of Florida's congressional delegation have succeeded at keeping funding in the budget.

Some communities are opting to bypass the arduous process of applying for federal financing. Destin Beach and Walton County, for example, are spending $15 million to restore their beaches, with the state contributing about half.

But the future of state funding isn't a sure thing either. A portion of Florida's real estate documentary stamp tax revenue is set aside in a trust fund to pay for beach renourishment. Last year, $30 million in state money went toward renourishment projects. As Legislators squabbled over the budget this year, proposals to cut beach renourishment surfaced.

Those involved in beach renourishment -- local and state officials, Corps of Engineer researchers, consultants and academics -- doubt that renourishment will be halted. But a cut in spending could slow down the renourishment cycle.

"I don't think anyone challenges the validity of beach renourishment anymore or claims that it's not an economic benefit," says Debbie Flack, director of governmental affairs for the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association. "But with all of the fiscal demands on the federal and state levels, we could see a slowdown. Instead of an eight-year cycle, we could see a 12-year cycle."

For now Brevard County officials are happy their beaches have been renourished. "It's been a very long trip," says Steve Peffer, assistant county manager. "It's a miracle to see sand on the beach."