By D. L. Norris
In a previous post on this blog titled Okaloosa County’s East Pass Soap Opera…Like Sand Through an Hour Glass, located in the November 2019 archives, the decade-long trials and tribulations of Okaloosa County’s attempts at beach re-nourishment were revealed as a secondary issue to dredging the East Pass. The Condo Alliance of Okaloosa Island (CAOI) has been a fierce opponent to using off-shore sand to re-nourish Okaloosa Island beaches. For over a decade, they have fought through legal channels to ensure Okaloosa Island gets all of it’s necessary sand supply from East Pass dredging. CAOI understands the negative aspects of traditional off-shore dredging as a method of beach re-nourishment.
In the Delaware-Surf-Fishing.com article, Is Beach Replenishment A Waste Of Money And Natural Resources, Dennis A. Schirmer, II discusses traditional beach replenishment (dumping off-shore dredge sand onto the beach then smoothing it out with bulldozers) in detail and states that it “does not stop erosion; it simply gives the erosional forces (usually waves) something else to chew on for a while. The waves erode the replenished sand instead of destroying houses, roads or parking lots. Because replenishment doesn’t stop erosion, replenishment must be repeated to maintain the beach. Key disadvantages to this method of replenishment is that the sand almost always erodes quicker than the natural sand on the beach–as much as two or three times faster and it is highly expensive–usually $1 – $2 million dollars per project. In addition, sufficient money is never available to replenish the entire beach out to a depth of 40ft. Thus, only the upper beach is covered with new sand, so that in effect, a steep beach is created. As a result of this downfall, the new steepened profile often increases the rate of erosion even more. Often the most overlooked disadvantage to traditional replenishment methods is the process of dumping off-shore dredge sand which destroys or injures marine and beach life by burying or crushing it under bulldozers, changes the shape of the beach or makes the water near the beach too muddy. Many organisms rely on the natural beach processes such as dune formation by wind for the creation and/or maintenance of their habitats. For example, traditional beach replenishment can modify a beach by making it too steep and/or too compacted for sea turtles to climb up and bury their eggs. Lastly, the sand added to the beach is often different from the natural beach sand. It can be hard to find a perfect match. This means that the new material may have smaller or larger diameter sand grains than the natural beach. Such differences in grain size affect the way waves interact with the beach. This will affect surf conditions and bars on the submerged part of the beach and will also change the shape of the dry beach.”
On the agenda for the July 6, 2021 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) regular meeting, under Old Business, was a request to consider an agreement to construct two Alternate Beach Nourishment Projects with NuShore, LLC, as a Sole Source provider; to authorize the County Administrator to approve project contingency, permits, and separate contractor task orders for sand surveys & analysis; and to approve budget transfer from TDT reserves.
From the county agenda packet, “Historically, the county has pursued traditional approaches to beach management such as dredging the inlet at the East Pass, off shore dredging, sand fencing and dune vegetative plantings, a sand sediment study, and nationally designated projects with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, all in an attempt to ensure a healthy beach. These traditional approaches can be costly, negatively impact native wildlife, and can require favorable weather conditions for construction. They also may occur during peak tourism periods, may be difficult to permit and contract, may not produce the sand quality desired by residents, and may require special property fee assessments which many residents oppose.”
According to the county’s agenda packet details, “The NuShore, LLC system, provides a unique product/process that otherwise avoids most of the problems associated with the traditional approaches to beach restoration. The cost is a fraction of the larger dredging project and has the ability to be reused for several deployments. It will be installed primarily in the off season minimizing any impact to wildlife and tourism. Because of its temporary nature, it is relatively easy to permit as it only requires a minor modification to existing permits. The sand collected will be native, naturally accreted sand that is already transported from offshore. The beaches proposed for projects are primarily public with no special assessments proposed.”
The county also states that “the system itself is often classified as temporary porous groynes and can generally be described as sand fencing that extends into the water. The system consists of lines of fine mesh fencing installed perpendicular to the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico. These porous groynes lines are typically spaced 100ft apart, with approximately 50ft onshore and 100 feet into the water. The porous groynes have smaller mesh for a few feet at the bottom with large mesh holes above that.”
The county plan is for “two 1,500ft sections for a total of approximately 3,000ft or 0.57 miles of shoreline. One system will be installed at James Lee Park in Destin and the second system will be installed approximately 400ft to the east of Beach Access 4 on Okaloosa Island. The system is planned to be installed for up to a 6-month period (removed before May 1st) and will be cleaned and stored for potential redeployment in the future. The system will require daily monitoring and periodic maintenance due to storms, heavy grass periods, periodic lifting of system (similar to sand fencing) and periodic cleaning of the system (remove biofouling).”
Funding for the project would come entirely from tourist development district bed taxes. The contract is for $593,013.85 with up to $74,126.73 of contract contingency, for up to $667,140.59 in total. The developer is contributing $57,169.34 of in kind services for the project.
In addition to the funding for the construction of the project, County staff are “working with NuShore, MRD Associates and FDEP to finalize a thorough evaluation system to determine the before, during, and after project effects. This is expected to cost approximately $200,000 for sand surveys and analysis.”
During Tuesday’s BOCC meeting, representatives from CAOI spoke in favor of employing the NuShore, LLC system with only one Okaloosa Island property owner speaking out in opposition.
The BOCC voted unanimously to: 1. approve the attached NuShore Contract for $593,013.85 and declare it a sole source procurement, 2. authorize the County Administrator to approve contingency up to $74,126.73, sign all permits for the project, and issue additional related task orders to MRD Associates for sand surveys and project analysis for up to $225,000, and 3. rescind part of the previous budget transfer of $1,450,000 approved via consent agenda on June 15, 2021 by $557,859 to reflect the new project amount needed of $892,141.
After a decade of CAOI fighting to stop Okaloosa County from employing the liberal method of off-shore dredge beach re-nourishment, and consistently advocating for a conservative, natural approach to beach re-nourishment for Okaloosa Island, the BOCC finally chose a conservative approach to beach re-nourishment…and the islander’s rejoiced!
You can contact the author at dlnorris@theparadisepatriot.com