sand - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T22:10:58Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/sandBoca Raton: Dredging offshore will continue through Aprilhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-dredging-offshore-will-continue-through-april2023-03-29T14:11:22.000Z2023-03-29T14:11:22.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. is back offshore pumping sand from the ebb shoal just south of the Boca Raton Inlet to beaches south of the inlet.<br />The roughly 1 mile of beaches between the inlet and the city limit with Deerfield Beach will remain open to the public except for about 500 feet around each day’s active area.<br />The $6.5 million project started in March and is scheduled to be completed by May 1. The city’s permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection does not allow sand to be deposited on the beaches from May to November to protect nesting sea turtles. <br />While signs on State Road A1A say turtle season is March 1 to Oct. 31, intense nesting does not begin that soon. <br />The turtle conservation program at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, which monitors the city’s 5 miles of beaches every morning during the season, as of March 27 reported only two leatherback nests and no loggerhead or green turtle nests.<br />Boca Raton routinely nourishes its south beach every seven years, rotating the work with projects on its central and north beaches. Hurricanes and other storms can lead to emergency sand projects.<br />The cost of the current work will be partly offset by grants from Palm Beach County and the state DEP. <br />The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District uses its tax revenue to pay for 50% of beach nourishment projects.<br />Through separate contracts, Great Lakes will also pump sand onto Deerfield Beach and its southern neighbor, Hillsboro Beach. Those municipalities are paying for their own work, supplemented by state and federal money.<br />Besides widening beaches for visitors, moving sand south helps keep the Boca Raton Inlet navigable to boaters.<br />“So excited to hear they are dredging the Boca inlet! Needed badly, it has been a little bumpy on the north side going out!!” Boca Raton boater Cindy Galiardo posted on Facebook.</p></div>Lantana: Beach closing for restorationhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-beach-closing-for-restoration2022-02-18T15:58:16.000Z2022-02-18T15:58:16.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>Lantana beach and the south entrance to the park will be closed for two weeks beginning on Feb. 28 for a restoration project.</p>
<p>The undertaking is the result of an interlocal agreement with the towns of Lantana, South Palm Beach and Palm Beach.</p>
<p>Sand will be transported by trucks to Lantana’s beach (and South Palm Beach) from an existing stockpile at Phipps Ocean Park.</p>
<p>The Lantana Town Council approved the agreement during a special meeting Feb. 9.</p>
<p>Mike Jenkins, the engineering consultant for Palm Beach, told Lantana officials during a workshop last December that if dune projects are done in concert together over a larger area, they tend to perform better.</p>
<p>“One of the critical aspects of this is if Lantana joins in this program to maintain a beach through repetitive dune projects, those projects will then become eligible for FEMA funds if there’s a declared disaster after a hurricane,” Jenkins said.</p>
<p>South Palm Beach will pay for the sand in exchange for ocean access from Lantana.</p>
<p>Lantana Town Manager Brian Raducci said the beach closing would not include the Dune Deck Café.</p>
<p>— <em>Mary Thurwachter</em></p></div>Highland Beach: Objection to Delray sand project rooted in hopes of changing the systemhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-objection-to-delray-sand-project-rooted-in-hopes-o2020-12-02T16:37:17.000Z2020-12-02T16:37:17.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>In what may be more a shot across the bow than a serious salvo, Highland Beach is again signaling it does not want sand off its coast used for another city’s beach restoration project — even though it has no legal claim to the sand. <br />In its latest effort to preserve the sand off its coast — should it be needed onshore — Highland Beach is taking aim at a Delray Beach renourishment project set to begin late next year. <br />Even though some leaders privately acknowledge that the town could benefit from the project as sand is driven south by currents, Highland Beach voiced its objection in a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has permitting authority over the project. <br />The letter comes after the Corps of Engineers, which is helping to fund the project, contacted Highland Beach as part of its requirement to seek public comment on a permit modification for the restoration project. <br />“The Town of Highland Beach objects to the city of Delray Beach project that seeks to renourish its beach with sand dredged from a borrow area located, in part, off our shoreline,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie wrote. <br />In response, Delray Beach officials point out that the borrow area from which sand is taken extends only about 700 feet south of city limits. <br />“The city is following all state and federal guidelines and is coordinating with all the regulatory agencies,” spokeswoman Gina Carter said. “The permit modifications proposed will support the city’s long-term beach nourishment program and provide the sand source for the city’s sixth periodic beach nourishment project planned for winter 21-22 and subsequent renourishment events.”<br />Delray Beach will use about 1 million cubic yards of sand to restore about 2.8 miles of beach from above Atlantic Avenue to just south of Linton Boulevard, according to the Army Corps. <br />Highland Beach’s objection comes several months after dredging off the town’s coast for a Boca Raton restoration project caused an uproar among residents and community leaders. <br />After doing research, town officials learned that Highland Beach did not object to the project years before, when it received notification from permitting agencies. The town also learned that it has no legal claim to sand off its shores, which is in state waters, and little power to stop properly permitted projects. <br />Highland Beach town staff has been in contact with staff in Boca in hopes of having input on future restoration projects. <br />In his letter to the Army Corps regarding Delray Beach’s project, Labadie spells out several reasons for the town’s objection, including environmental concerns such as potential damage to offshore reefs and disturbances to turtle nesting sites. <br />He also addresses concerns about the dwindling amount of beach-compatible sand off the Florida coast due to beach restorations. Without enough sand available offshore, some cities, especially in Miami-Dade County, are forced to truck in sand, which is more expensive. <br />“Continued sand dredging in a borrow area located offshore of the town is compromising our ability to effectively and efficiently restore our beach areas following large storm events and/or damage resulting from other climatic and sea-level rise impacts,” Labadie wrote. <br />Town officials recognize that their efforts to stop Delray’s restoration project have only a slight chance at success but say they are hoping to send a message to state lawmakers and regulators about flaws in the permitting process. <br />“The town is hoping the state will rethink the way they’ve been doing this for the last 30 years,” Labadie said. “We’re not trying to be a bad neighbor, we’re just concerned about the long-term ramifications of this process.” Ú</p></div>South Palm Beach: Hurdles, delays lengthen for sand projecthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-hurdles-delays-lengthen-for-sand-project2020-10-28T17:00:33.000Z2020-10-28T17:00:33.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>South Palm Beach is facing months of continued delays to beginning its much-anticipated beach restoration project.<br /> The town had hoped to start work on its eroding beachfront this fall. But Mayor Bonnie Fischer now says it’s unlikely anything will happen until after the first of the year, at the earliest.<br /> “We’re still at ground zero,” Fischer said. “We still have issues with easements. We’re having a really difficult time.”<br /> The plan calls for partnering with neighboring Palm Beach and buying as many as 1,000 truckloads of sand the town is currently dredging as part of a large beach renourishment project to the north. The sand would be hauled south and then used to fortify the South Palm Beach dunes.<br />The problem is the town still has no way to deliver the sand to its beach. Property owners have been reluctant to allow access for the work. <br />The project got a huge boost on Oct. 19 when the Palmsea condominium voted unanimously to grant the town an easement and use of the east-west thoroughfare that runs from State Road A1A next to the condo building.<br />“That’s a big one — getting Palmsea’s support,” Fischer said.<br />Still other access issues and opposition remain with the owner of a private single-family residence, other condo residents and potentially even the Town of Lantana.<br /> “We’re still trying,” Fischer said, “but it’s a controversial project.”<br /> The plan is a substitute for a joint project with Palm Beach County to install groins on the beach. That project fell apart early last year because of skyrocketing costs and objections from neighboring communities to the south that feared the groins would steal sand flowing their way.<br /> The partnership with Palm Beach would cost the town between $700,000-$900,000 to buy the sand and install erosion-resistant plants along the dune line. Unlike the groin plan, Fischer says the substitute project has “no long-term value” because, without groins, there is no guarantee the new sand wouldn’t be swept out to sea by the first storm surge.<br /> The clock is running on South Palm Beach. Work has to be completed by May to avoid interfering with turtle nesting season. “We hope something can happen,” Fischer said.<br /> <strong>In other business:</strong><br /> • Despite a tough budget year with revenues diminished by the COVID-19 pandemic, South Palm Beach was able to deliver a slight tax break to residents at a time when most Florida municipalities were struggling to make ends meet.<br /> In September, the council voted to drop the town’s tax rate for the 2020-2021 budget to $3.54 per $1,000 of property valuation — which is below the $3.55 rollback rate that would hold taxes flat year over year, and below the $3.59 of last year. Though most taxpayers aren’t likely to notice the small reduction, Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb says it demonstrates the council’s commitment to fiscally conservative budgets.<br /> “We’ve cut the tax rate five years in a row now,” Gottlieb said. “That is important.”<br /> Taxable values are up 22% in South Palm Beach, the highest increase in the county, thanks to the opening of the $72 million 3550 South Ocean condo building. <br /> • The council approved a two-year contract renewal for Town Manager Robert Kellogg, maintaining his annual salary at $100,000.<br /> Hired in December 2018 after serving as manager in Hillsboro Beach and Sewall’s Point, Kellogg has brought stability to a position that went through a period of administrative turmoil. South Palm Beach had three managers come and then go in the three years before Kellogg’s arrival.<br /> The council originally agreed to give him a one-year contract but then unanimously approved his request for two years.<br /> “We had five managers in five years,” said Councilman Bill LeRoy. “Now we’ve got a hardworking, responsible manager. I’d be happy to have him signed up for a multiyear contract as opposed to a one-year contract.” </p></div>Highland Beach: Told that beach is ‘stable,’ town aims to keep it sohttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-told-that-beach-is-stable-town-aims-to-keep-it-so2020-07-01T16:30:21.000Z2020-07-01T16:30:21.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>After shaking a finger at Boca Raton for removing offshore sand as part of a beach restoration project, Highland Beach commissioners are now discussing working with that city to solve short-term sand issues and possibly long-term environmental concerns. <br />Following calls from residents complaining that sand from off Highland Beach’s coast was being used to enhance Boca Raton’s north beach, town commissioners in June invited coastal engineer Gordon Thomson to help them get a better understanding of the impact of the sand removal and of the state and federal permitting processes. <br />Some of what they heard — from both Thomson and Town Manager Marshall Labadie — was unexpected. <br />While residents have complained for years about a shrinking Highland Beach shoreline, Thomson said that the northern and central part of the beach has actually increased, while the southern portion of the beach has gotten smaller.<br />“Overall, the beach is stable and growing,” he said. “There is more sand on your beach and more sand offshore.” <br />Thomson also told the commission that the removal of sand from off Highland Beach for the recent project and upcoming restoration projects in Boca Raton will have very little impact on the Highland Beach coast. <br />“It’s really only the massive storms in which you’ll see a change,” he said. <br />Commissioner John Shoemaker said that information may come as news to residents who were worried about the impacts of the dredging. <br />“I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by this,” Shoemaker said. <br />During the meeting, Thomson explained to commissioners that state and federal regulators have strict guidelines that must be followed and that as part of the permit there must be public notice given that the project will be taking place. <br />Labadie said that contrary to what many believed, Boca Raton notified Highland Beach of the project as it went through the permitting process. <br />He has also said that Highland Beach may follow up on a recommendation from Thomson that it possibly piggyback with Boca Raton on future beach projects and use some of the sand to reinforce beach dunes. <br />While the coastal engineer said that the environmental impact of dredging offshore is closely monitored by state and federal officials and should be minimal, commissioners expressed concerns about reef damage and the long-term impact of removing millions of tons of sand from offshore. <br />Working with Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Labadie proposed that the town contact an environmental lawyer to see what steps Highland Beach — perhaps in conjunction with other coastal communities — can take to minimize the impact of removing beach-compatible sand from the ocean floor. <br />“It’s about coastal resiliency,” Labadie said. “Why are we working so hard to deplete a finite resource?”<br />Although Thomson said there is enough beach-compatible sand in the specific area off Highland Beach to last decades, Labadie and commissioners say it’s important to look over the regulations and processes that have been in place for decades in an effort to mitigate future environmental damage. <br />Labadie said an environmental attorney would be able to provide the town with a better understanding of the statutes and regulations so Highland Beach and other communities could be effective in bringing concerns about dredging to legislators. <br />“From a public policy perspective you have to constantly re-evaluate how you do things,” he said. <br />Mayor Doug Hillman said the town will add the idea of hiring an environmental attorney to a list of proposed projects that will be prioritized in the coming weeks. Ú</p></div>Letter to the Editor: Off-color replenishment sand bad for environment and tourismhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-the-editor-off-color-replenishment-sand-bad-for-environ2019-05-01T17:26:19.000Z2019-05-01T17:26:19.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>I moved to Ocean Boulevard in Delray Beach in February 2000. Back then the water was a beautiful Bahamian aqua blue, crystal clear much of the time.<br /> I am not sure which year, but Delray Beach “replenished” its beach, starting 11/2 miles north of our beach. After the first season, the sand that was used for replenishment, which was light brown, moved south and completely changed our water color. There was some silt from this brown sand, but not too bad, as the water would clean in a day or so, after a storm. But the frequent aqua blue was gone. <br /> Now, some years later, Delray again replenishes and this time with gray sand loaded with silt. Today the water is never as clear as before the first replenishment.<br /> I now live in Highland Beach and we have both Delray’s two shades of sand and silt, plus with the southeast wind that prevails here, we have all Boca’s sand and silt, also!<br /> Bottom line, what that ship [“Unusual ship is surveying sand on ocean floor for future projects,” Coastal Star, April 2019] should have been looking for was some sand that matched the white, pure sand that we had in 2000.<br /> No more off-color sand that contains silt. Tallahassee does not care, so we have to require the use of sand that will return our water to aqua blue and crystal clear.<br /> It’s out there, we just need someone who cares about the people’s environment.<br /> This off-color sand and too often murky water is not good for tourism.</p>
<p><em>Fred Taubert</em><br /><em>Highland Beach</em> </p></div>Along the Coast: Eau threatens to sue over South Palm groin planhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-eau-threatens-to-sue-over-south-palm-groin-plan2017-08-30T17:00:05.000Z2017-08-30T17:00:05.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br /> In a sharply worded letter, an attorney for the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa has warned South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer that the town can expect a lawsuit if it goes forward with plans to install groins on its beach.<br /> West Palm Beach attorney Gregory Coleman said that the resort shares the concerns of Manalapan officials that using groins in the South Palm shoreline stabilization project will disrupt the natural flow of sand and damage beaches to the south.<br /> Coleman, former president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, told Fischer in the letter sent in late July that the Eau is prepared to go to court to stop the project:<br /> “This letter is to place the town and adjacent property owners on notice that if you proceed with your groyne (sic) implementation strategy, and our property suffers detrimentally as a result of your groynes, then we will proceed against any and all responsible persons, entities or municipalities, to recover monetary damages for our financial loss.”<br /> Manalapan Mayor Keith Waters in recent weeks has suggested his town would take similar legal action, as Palm Beach County and South Palm Beach have begun work on obtaining the permits necessary to get their joint project started by November 2018.<br /> Eleven years in the making, the $5 million plan calls for installing seven concrete groins from the northern South Palm Beach line to Lantana’s municipal beach to slow the erosion that encroaches on the town’s condo buildings.<br /> Waters and Coleman cite the experience of Hillsboro Beach in Broward County as compelling justification to oppose the project. Deerfield Beach installed dozens of groins in the 1960s and Hillsboro, its neighbor to the south, has been losing its beachfront ever since, the critics say. The two municipalities are fighting out their dispute over stolen sand in court, with millions in damages at stake.<br /> Fischer has expressed optimism that South Palm’s project can move forward without legal delays. She says her town’s project bears little resemblance to what Deerfield Beach did.<br /> The mayor said she has talked to County Commissioner Steven Abrams and their hope is that the Eau and Manalapan will drop their opposition if they take a closer look. “If engineers come and have them understand the project, [Abrams] feels it can move forward,” Fischer said.<br /> Bob Vitas, the South Palm town manager, says the fate of the plan is uncertain until opponents are satisfied.<br /> “We don’t know whether they’re going to litigate and literally create a delay in the project,” Vitas said. “Any litigation is going to stop that project cold.”</p></div>Letter to the Editor: Visions of snorkeling over South Palm Beachhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-the-editor-visions-of-snorkeling-over-south-palm-beach2017-08-30T16:57:58.000Z2017-08-30T16:57:58.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p> Once again we are talking about beach sand and how what one town does affects others. There is no doubt at all that the groins South Palm wants to build will prevent some sand from reaching points south. Not being a lawyer, I have no clue whether other towns have a right to that sand, which may or may not actually wind up on their shores.<br /> We better get used to this. I have seen severe erosion along our coast since the ’60s when A1A was washed out in north Delray Beach. For the most part, the more natural coastline maintains itself fairly well. Where you have the major issues are where seawalls line the beach, as in Manalapan, or where condos are built too far east, as in South Palm Beach. <br /> Many people don’t know that new sand production was drastically curtailed in the 1930s, when the Tennessee Valley Authority was created and dams were built along the Appalachians to produce electricity. The quartz rocks that were crushed into sand as they were swept downstream — and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico — were no longer able to make that journey, and as a result much of Florida’s sand was not created anymore. <br /> We can be sure that is going to be the case for any foreseeable future.<br /> It is probably too late for more intelligent building decisions helping this issue and it will remain an economic decision as to the value of beaches and who will pay for them.<br /> I have no doubt that future generations will find excellent snorkeling over some ill-fated condos, regardless of what we do.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>Taylor Snow</em><br /><em>Lantana</em></p></div>Along the Coast: Will our next beach renourishment use Bahamian sand?https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-will-our-next-beach-renourishment-use-bahamian-sa2017-08-02T15:00:00.000Z2017-08-02T15:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960739665,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960739665,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="513" alt="7960739665?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Florida (left) may import sand from the Bahamas for use in beach renourishment. The light blue areas of this satellite image show the shallow bottom around the Bahamas. <strong>Photo by NASA</strong></em></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related Story: Manalapan vows to fight South Palm Beach <a href="http://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-manalapan-vows-to-fight-south-palm-beach-sand-ret">sand retention</a> plan</strong></p>
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<p><strong>By Cheryl Blackerby</strong><br /> <br /> Beach sand is constantly on the move, generally north to south, and is as fluid as the ocean that pounds it. Most Floridians had never really considered this geological phenomenon, but they have learned the hard way that barrier islands are constantly reshaped by winds, water currents and development. <br /> In recent decades, coastal residents noticed that sand was leaving the shore and not coming back. Waves, particularly those powered by tropical storms and hurricanes, carved out cliffs in formerly flat shores and washed sand out from underneath high-rise condos and beachside houses. <br /> When faced with thinning beaches and encroaching ocean water, resourceful beach towns simply dug up offshore sand and pumped it onto the beaches, grumbling about costs as the big dredges did their work, but doing whatever it took to keep the beaches nice and wide for tourists.<br /> Then, the unthinkable happened: The offshore sand ran out. <br /> No longer were they looking at expensive dredging for sand, they were looking at no sand.<br /> Miami-Dade and Broward counties have depleted their offshore sand, and the end is in sight for Palm Beach County. <br /> South Palm Beach has no sand it can dredge and shoot onto the narrow strip of shore that’s mostly walkable only at low tide. Boca Raton may have only 20 years’ worth of sand left barring more frequent tropical storms and hurricanes.<br /> It turns out that sand is not infinite. The sand that can be dredged offshore is from a slender ribbon of sandy floor between the shore and reefs. Just beyond the reefs is a steep drop-off that’s too deep for even the largest dredges.<br /> Coastal residents face new hard truths — sand is more than a place to stick an umbrella on a sunny day. It is the only barrier between a relentless and unforgiving ocean and seaside towns, beachfront mansions, high-rise condos and roads. <br /> Broward County already has started raising State Road A1A two feet when sections of the road are rebuilt because of coastal flooding. <br /> During storms and high tides, ocean water has rushed underneath buildings, exposing foundations and supports and flooding streets.<br /> Wildlife, too, is suffering from eroding sand. Beaches are a nesting ground for endangered sea turtles and crucial feeding areas for sea birds.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Eyes across the sea for sand</strong><br /> Sea oats and dunes placed to keep the ocean at bay are no longer up to the job. Seaside towns are looking at options and they aren’t good. Inland sand is expensive to mine and transport. Man-made remedies for capturing sand, such as groins, cause myriad problems.<br /> The last resort is buying foreign sand, and South Florida is looking 60 miles east to the glorious white-sand banks of the Bahamas. The latest idea from elected officials and perhaps the only option left is buying sand from the Bahamas and transporting it by barge across the Gulf Stream to South Florida. <br /> But buying foreign sand is illegal. Two bills in the U.S. Congress hope to change that. The Sand Acquisition, Nourishment and Development Act, introduced by Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach with fellow members of the Florida congressional delegation, and a companion bill in the Senate introduced by Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio would repeal a law that does not allow communities to buy sand from the Bahamas and other foreign countries to replenish shorelines.<br /> Bahamian sand could alleviate the high price of trucking in sand for counties like Miami-Dade and Broward that have depleted their usable sand offshore, Frankel said, and would mitigate potential legal battles over domestic sand sources between northern counties, which have relatively more offshore sand, and southern Florida counties. <br /> Most South Florida coastal towns have endorsed the bills.<br /> The stakes are high. “Replenishing our shorelines protects our jobs, our environment and our property,” said Frankel.<br /> “It’s time to lift the antiquated federal prohibition on replenishing Florida beaches with foreign sand,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston. “The current law hurts Florida taxpayers through all the existing long-distance hauling costs involved. Our beaches are not only vital civic treasures for our residents, they’re also a pillar of Florida’s tourism economy. We need to give our local communities more tools to keep our beaches healthy and attractive. The SAND Act will do that.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Options are waning</strong><br /> Coastal towns also are looking at ways to hold on to any sand that comes their way. Of the few possibilities, groins are getting the most attention. Groins are installed to trap sand closer to shore, but they also can starve towns to the south of sand that would have flowed in their direction.<br /> Hillsboro Beach in Broward County has sued seeking damages and legal fees from Deerfield Beach over Deerfield’s groins. Hillsboro claims the groins have caused millions of dollars’ worth of erosion of Hillsboro’s beaches. <br /> Manalapan Mayor Keith Waters says his town is ready to do “whatever it takes” to stop South Palm Beach from installing groins.<br /> And even with the installation of groins, towns will still have to pay for more sand as they put in the groins. It will take roughly 80,000 cubic yards of sand to cover the seven groins once the South Palm Beach shoreline stabilization plan is completed, according to project engineers. That is enough to fill more than 5,000 standard commercial dump trucks.<br /> Engineers say the project has a life span of 50 years and the town will have to set aside $200,000 a year to cover the cost of replenishing sand that washes way. That price is sure to go up as sand becomes scarcer.<br /> Where South Palm Beach will find the sand it will need for the next half-century and how much it will cost decades from now are questions no one can answer.<br /> “There is going to be a sand shortage, that’s for sure,” said South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer. “It’s good to look to the future and look for other sand sources.”<br /> Fischer supports the efforts in Congress to allow the importation of foreign sand but worries about cost.<br /> “Sand from the Bahamas is expensive, basically because of the expense of transporting it here,” she said. <br /> Sand mined from Central Florida, called “upland sand,” is also expensive even though it is generally superior in quality to offshore sand, she said. <br /> “The granules of upland sand are a better match for turtles and more like what’s here. Dredged sand often has too much clay in it,” Fischer said. <br /> Jennifer Bistyga, coastal program manager for the city of Boca Raton, says the city has depleted the offshore “borrow areas” that have been dredged in the past.<br /> “We are now doing a geotechnical search looking for more offshore sand, and we have identified new sources,” Bistyga said. “We hope to have sand for 20 years.”<br /> The lack of offshore sand in the future, she said, is a “definite concern.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Competition for sand</strong><br /> Meanwhile, sand worldwide is becoming scarce. Used in concrete, glass, computer microchips and roads, sand is our most essential natural resource after air and water, and we’re running out, mostly because of exploding development. We’re using sand faster than it is produced — the erosion that makes sand takes thousands of years. <br /> Desert sand is not conducive to making building materials such as concrete and glass and blows away on beaches, so the world relies on sand and gravel, called aggregates, from seashores and river beds. <br /> A case in point is the city of Dubai in the desert country of United Arab Emirates, which ran out of marine sand and has to import sand from Australia for its mammoth developments, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. <br /> “A conservative estimate for the world consumption of aggregates exceeds 40 billion tons a year. This is twice the yearly amount of sediment carried by all the rivers of the world,” according to United Nations research.<br /> Buying sand may be only buying time, some city officials say. Bahamian sand is a stopgap measure. But it’s the only game in town at present.<br /> “There’s a diminishing return when it comes to bringing in sand — there’s only so much of it out there. Who knows what it’s going to cost 10 or 20 years from now?” asked Fischer, the South Palm Beach mayor.<br /> But since the dawn of tourism in the Sunshine State, South Florida has been known for its golden sand beaches, enriched with every turquoise Atlantic Ocean wave that tumbled on it bringing sand from somewhere else. And towns will hang onto it as long as they can.<br /> <em> — Dan Moffett contributed to this story</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960739486,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960739486,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="194" alt="7960739486?profile=original" /></a>The great majority of Palm Beach County’s 45 miles of beachfront is considered critically eroded (red). <strong>2015 map by Florida Department of Environmental Protection</strong></em></p></div>Along the Coast: Manalapan vows to fight South Palm Beach sand retention planhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-manalapan-vows-to-fight-south-palm-beach-sand-ret2017-08-02T14:30:00.000Z2017-08-02T14:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738284,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738284,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960738284?profile=original" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738680,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738680,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960738680?profile=original" /></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related Story: Will our next beach renourishment use <a href="http://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-will-our-next-beach-renourishment-use-bahamian-sa">Bahamian sand</a>?</strong></p>
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<p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /> <br /> Manalapan is stepping up efforts to block a proposed beach stabilization project that would install concrete groins to capture sand in South Palm Beach.<br /> On July 18, Manalapan Mayor Keith Waters and Town Manager Linda Stumpf met with Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams to outline the town’s opposition to the project.<br /> Waters told Abrams what he’s been telling his residents: The town is prepared to do “whatever it takes” to prevent the installation of groins that will “steal” sand from Manalapan.<br /> The project, which county environmental managers hope to begin in November 2018, is going through a complicated permitting phase now that requires approvals from federal and state agencies. Waters said the town intends to intervene in that process and argue against granting the permits.<br /> After the meeting, Abrams sent an email to Rob Robbins, director of the county’s Environmental Resources Management department, which oversees the project. Abrams’ remarks reflect the conflicted positions officials find themselves in as neighbors turn against neighbors in disputes over sand for their beaches.<br /> “I am in the middle of this as the district commissioner for both them and South Palm Beach, as well as my responsibility to protect county interests,” Abrams wrote. “It would certainly be in everyone’s interest to resolve this matter without resort(ing) to any adversarial proceedings.”<br /> Robbins responded to Abrams with a call for patience:<br /> “Our applications are not yet complete and we have at least many months to go before they will be complete,” Robbins wrote in an email. “What I’m trying to convey is that the town should not feel rushed to intervene.”<br /> Robbins said, “We hate to see the town spend money defending themselves from the county.”<br /> Manalapan’s opposition is based largely on what the county and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers don’t know about what the groins’ impact would be on the beaches south of South Palm Beach.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738899,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738899,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="274" alt="7960738899?profile=original" /></a><br /> The fear is the concrete devices would greatly disrupt the natural north-to-south flow of sand, capturing so much that there’s not enough left to replenish the beaches in Manalapan and its southern neighbors. Waters points to Broward County, where Hillsboro Beach is dealing with severe erosion and is suing northern neighbor Deerfield for using groins to trap sand.<br /> Stumpf says South Palm Beach has concern about the sand transfer station at the Boynton Beach Inlet, technically known as the Lake Worth Inlet. The man-made entry to the Intracoastal Waterway interrupts the natural flow of sand south. The purpose of the transfer station is to mechanically pick up sand from the north side of the inlet and pump it to Ocean Ridge on the south side.<br /> “If we don’t get sand in Manalapan,” Stumpf says, “then we don’t have anything to transfer to Ocean Ridge.”<br /> Manalapan officials warn of a cascading effect in which sand flow dies at the inlet, starving beaches not only in Ocean Ridge, but in Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Delray Beach.<br /> Army engineers have offered little to allay this concern. In June 2016, the Corps released a 481-page Environmental Impact Study, detailing the plan and examining its potential effects. Manalapan was mentioned only 27 times, with nearly all of the references historical or perfunctory.<br /> “We’re willing to pay for our own study to show the damage this project could do,” Stumpf said.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738293,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738293,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="473" alt="7960738293?profile=original" /></a><em>ABOVE LEFT: Beach sand naturally follows the predominant tidal action ‘littoral drift’ south along our coast. Physical barriers like groins and inlet jetties slow that drift, depriving the neighbors to the south. Manalapan is required by a judge’s ruling to allow the county to pump sand across the Boynton Beach Inlet to prevent sand starvation in Ocean Ridge. Ocean Ridge also benefited from a 2015 renourishment project to widen the beach on the south side of the inlet. </em><br /> <em>ABOVE RIGHT: The town of Hillsboro Beach is suing the city of Deerfield Beach over the installation of groins along the Deerfield coast that are slowing the littoral drift and holding the sand captive. <strong>Google Earth photos</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p></div>Boca Raton: Hillsboro Beach protests Boca Raton beach renourishment planhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-hillsboro-beach-protests-boca-raton-beach-renourishmen2017-03-01T15:54:28.000Z2017-03-01T15:54:28.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960708485,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960708485,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960708485?profile=original" /></a><em>Beachgoers walk by dredging equipment on South Beach Park. The beach renourishment project</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>between the Boca Raton Inlet and Red Reef Park has resumed after a nine-month hiatus.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Steve Plunkett<br /><br /></strong> City officials hope to move sand that has shoaled in the Boca Raton Inlet back north to the partially renourished beach it came from, but Hillsboro Beach officials claim the state mistakenly issued a permit for the work. <br /> The town, just south of Deerfield Beach in Broward County, says Boca Raton’s plan will disrupt the natural flow of sand south and wants the Department of Environmental Protection to revoke its approval.<br /> Boca Raton City Council members at their Feb. 14 meeting approved spending $2.4 million to move 80,000 cubic yards of sand north to the renourishment area between the inlet and Red Reef Park, and 100,000 cubic yards south between the inlet and the Broward County line. <br /> City Manager Leif Ahnell asked council members to waive normal purchasing procedures so he could hire Weeks Marine Inc. to do the inlet dredging without going out to bid. Weeks returned in February to finish the central beach renourishment project it started in March 2016 but stopped in late April. The city’s permit does not allow dredging between May 1 and Nov. 30 to protect nesting sea turtles.<br /> “This is not original work intended for the contractor,” Ahnell said. “Sand has flowed down from the central beach project to the inlet and this is to remove a large portion of that.”<br /> Hurricane Matthew contributed to the erosion, he said.<br /> Councilman Scott Singer elaborated.<br /> “So, it’s right to say that we had sand fill up in the inlet faster than expected, we’re taking steps to remediate that quicker than expected, we have to spend more money and that was all because of weather events and the waves and tides pushing sand where we didn’t expect it,” Singer said. <br /> The central beach renourishment will cost about $11.3 million. The state and county will pay about $4 million. The city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District agreed to split the remainder, about $3.7 million each. The project will make about 1.45 miles of beach between Red Reef Park and the inlet 170 feet wider.<br /> Jennifer Bistyga, the city’s coastal program manager, said Weeks would finish the 2015 renourishment project first, then work on the inlet shoaling provided the DEP permit stands. All work must end April 30.<br /> Boaters have been complaining since last summer about the Boca Inlet being dangerously shallow.<br /> “The use of the ebb shoal for beach renourishment aids the boaters in addition to renourishing the beaches,” Bistyga said.<br /> Ken Oertel, a Tallahassee-based attorney for Hillsboro Beach, told that town’s commissioners their protest would stop Boca Raton from moving the sand dredged from the inlet north.<br /> “It’s pretty well-known that Hillsboro Beach doesn’t believe Boca Raton is passing enough sand,” Oertel said.<br /> The Department of Environmental Protection dismissed Hillsboro Beach’s petition on Feb. 23 but gave the town 15 days to refile its challenge. The petition did not explain how Boca Raton’s proposed dredging would affect the town’s environmental interests, the DEP said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Central beach’s turn for sand comes next yearhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-central-beach-s-turn-for-sand-comes-next-year2014-10-01T17:54:51.000Z2014-10-01T17:54:51.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Cheryl Blackerby</strong><br /><br /> New sand has been pumped on Boca Raton’s south and north beaches, and next year it will be the city’s central beach’s turn to be renourished.<br /> Although the central beach didn’t lose as much sand to Hurricane Sandy as the north and south beaches, a recent survey showed that the central beach needs sand. And it will get it next year.<br /> A beach renourishment project is planned for late 2015, said Jennifer Bistyga, coastal engineer with the city of Boca Raton. The central beach hasn’t been replenished since 2006 and is due for regular sand maintenance, usually done at 10-year intervals.<br /> “Overall the beach has receded and is continuing to recede. We plan to put the project up for bid probably May 2015 and anticipate beach construction in late 2015 or early 2016. But we’re hoping for 2015,” she said.<br /> Central beach actually gained some sand since Hurricane Sandy because of the downward drift of sand from the north beach, but the beach still needs more sand due to natural erosion, she said.<br /> Central beach runs from the southern border of Red Reef Park to the Boca Raton Inlet. The beach is expected to gain even more sand from the renourishment in November of the north beach, as some of that sand will also naturally migrate south.<br /> The city hasn’t yet estimated the cost of the central beach renourishment, but hopes to have financial help with the project.<br /> “We anticipate cost-sharing with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Palm Beach County,” Bistyga said.<br /> The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District will pay 50 percent of the city’s share of beach renourishment. The district had budgeted $1.7 million for beach renourishment at central beach in 2014, but that money will now be carried over to the next budget after the city postponed the project.<br /> The dredging project for the north beach, which was hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy, started March 23. Work was halted midway because of bad weather and rough seas, and is expected to start again in November. <br /> “We have about 50 percent left to do. We’re hoping the project will take four to six weeks,” she said. <br /> Boca’s north beach, as well as beaches in Ocean Ridge and Delray Beach that were renourished early this year, are U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects. The south Boca Raton beach was not an Army Corps project, but the city used the same contractor to save money.<br /> The city had hoped the central beach could have been done soon after the north beach to save more money using the same contractor, which had the dredge in place, but that won’t happen. ;</p></div>Manalapan: Town, county meet on beach issueshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-town-county-meet-on-beach-issues2014-02-26T18:26:40.000Z2014-02-26T18:26:40.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p> Dan Bates, Palm Beach County’s environment resource management director, had mixed news during a recent meeting with Manalapan’s task force on beach issues.</p>
<p> The good news was that the contours of Manalapan’s coastline help its beaches collect and retain sand. The bad news is that because the town’s beachfront is nearly all privately owned, there won’t be any federal or state money for repairs. However, Town Manager Linda Stumpf said the beach at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa may be an exception because it has public use and collects tourism taxes. </p>
<p> The town’s task force is looking into getting federal or state money to help clear away some of the underwater debris behind the resort. </p>
<p><span> </span><i>— Dan Moffett</i></p>
<p><i> </i></p></div>Dunes vs. Sea walls: Stopping sand loss is a complicated businesshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-stopping-sand-loss-is-a-complicated-business2013-10-02T20:00:00.000Z2013-10-02T20:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960465299,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960465299,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960465299?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Manalapan was especially hard-hit when days of pounding from Hurricane Sandy undermined sea walls at more than 20 homes.</em><br /> <em>Many complained that poorly maintained sea walls at one property caused the sea wall of their neighbors to fail.</em><br /> <strong><em>2012 photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</em></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><em><strong>A <em>Coastal Star</em> Special Report:</strong></em></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Hurricane shows just how fragile our shores are<br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Sand is finite:</strong> Sand becoming a <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lessons-learned-from-sandy-sand-becoming-a-precious-commodity">precious commodity</a> | A <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-lexicon-of-sand">lexicon</a> of sand <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Dunes vs. Sea walls:</strong> Natural vegetative <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-natural-vegetative-dunes-may-be-the-best-defen">dunes</a> may be best defense <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Who is taking action?:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-lawmakers-discuss-storm-recovery-efforts">Lawmakers</a> discuss storm recovery efforts | Local officials sign on to beach management <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officials-sign-on-to-beach-management-a">agreement</a> | <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officals">Quotes</a> from local officials</p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>Editor's Note:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-lessons-learned-from-sandy">Lessons learned</a> from Sandy | <strong>Part II</strong>: <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rising-water-new-signs-of-rising-sea-levels-cause-concern">Rising Water</a></div>
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<p><strong>By Cheryl Blackerby</strong></p>
<p> In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many seaside residents were suddenly interested in armoring the coast to prevent beach erosion and damage to homes.</p>
<p> In emotional meetings across Palm Beach County, residents and experts discussed the pros and cons of breakwaters, groins, revetments and sea walls. Most of the news was bad. Sand, it turns out, is difficult to hold onto.</p>
<p> But there are, indeed, ways to capture sand. A breakwater or groin can corral sand behind a beachside house, but most likely will starve sand to the south. And the neighbors to the south will not be happy about it.</p>
<p> Breakwaters in Florida, such as those around Peanut Island in the Intracoastal Waterway near the Lake Worth Inlet, are offshore structures made of rock limestone or granite that run parallel to the shoreline.</p>
<p> “They are usually an engineered structure built to specifications, not just a pile of rocks,” said Michael Stahl, a senior environmental analyst for the county’s Department of Environmental Resources Management.</p>
<p> Stahl and his department designed breakwaters for a beach on Singer Island, where near-shore fish habitats prevented beach renourishment.</p>
<p> But they were unable to get permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because of the potential for obstructing sea turtle nesting.</p>
<p> “And anytime you restrict sand movement from north to south, you introduce the potential for down-drift impacts. You essentially relocate sand from one section of the beach to another section,” Stahl said.</p>
<p> Groins run perpendicular to the shoreline and accumulate sand on the up-drift part of the structure. The groins just south of the Boynton Inlet retain sand on the south side of the inlet.</p>
<p> “The drawback is they act as a dam to moving sand. Down-drift beaches are being starved of sand which results in additional groin structures being built to the south and the result is a groin field, a series of groins to trap sand,” he said.</p>
<p> And there’s the same problem with nesting turtles. “In Ocean Ridge, the turtle hatchlings next to the groins have to be caged to prevent the hatchlings from getting trapped in the rocks,” Stahl said.</p>
<p> But breakwaters are a good option when compared to sea walls, he said. When you build a sea wall you are saying goodbye to a beach.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960466259,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960466259,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="592" alt="7960466259?profile=original" /></a> “The big drawback is that the beach erodes in front of the wall, and there is a deflation of sand, which then allows the waves to reflect off the walls carrying the sand with it. You are essentially accelerating the erosion,” he said, adding that the waves will eventually undermine the wall itself.</p>
<p> Shore engineers don’t like to see the intermittent sea walls built by residents along the shoreline in Manalapan, Palm Beach and other places. “We would prefer not to have an armored shoreline like that. There’s a loss of sand and a loss of turtle habitat,” he said.</p>
<p> Residents have the right to build sea walls, but they must get permits from the DEP. Homeowners are responsible for maintaining them. When residents lose sand because of their sea walls, their neighbors may also lose sand.</p>
<p> Revetments, sloping shores covered with rock or concrete, are an old-school beach armor that almost no one is considering. Delray Beach city officials tried expensive “waffle revetments,” interlocking concrete blocks on the beach in the 1960s, which kept people off the beach and eventually collapsed under crashing waves.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960466453,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960466453,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="538" alt="7960466453?profile=original" /></a><em>Neighbors standing on a Highland Beach condo parking lot watch as waves scour the dunes at neighboring homes.</em></p></div>Who's taking action: Local officalshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officals2013-10-02T18:00:00.000Z2013-10-02T18:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473476,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473476,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="91" alt="7960473476?profile=original" /></a></p>
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<p>“Mother Nature was saying a little storm — not even a hurricane at the time — could come through and cause so much havoc. Mother Nature will always prevail. We could learn from the ancient Indians who didn’t build their settlements right on the coast, but further inland.”</p>
<p><em>— Dave Stewart, mayor of Lantana</em></p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473688,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473688,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="88" alt="7960473688?profile=original" /></a></p>
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<p>“We learned that what Mother Nature takes away, Mother Nature brings back. There was a lot of concern at first, but within a few months, the sand lost to the storm was back in most areas.”<br /> <em>— Kathleen Weiser, town manager of Highland Beach</em></p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473873,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473873,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="91" alt="7960473873?profile=original" /></a></p>
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<p>“While we cannot change the reality that our beaches will always be vulnerable to storms and the natural movement of sand, we can control our ability to lessen the financial impacts and uncertainties through operating efficiencies and planned revenue sources that can allocate funding specifically for our beaches.”<br /> <em>— Carey Glickstein, mayor of Delray Beach</em></p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473882,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473882,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="88" alt="7960473882?profile=original" /></a></p>
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<p>“Our residents felt it was their responsibility [to repair and maintain storm-damaged sea walls] and there’s nothing the town should be regulating.”<br /> <em>— Linda Stumpf, Manalapan town manager</em></p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960474091,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960474091,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="93" alt="7960474091?profile=original" /></a></p>
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<p>“Florida is the No. 1 land mass in the world in terms of value of property exposed to hurricanes. Let’s all take this upcoming hurricane season with absolute seriousness.”<br /> <em>— Bill Hager, Florida representative, District 89</em></p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960474262,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960474262,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="89" alt="7960474262?profile=original" /></a></p>
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<p>“Our beaches are important to both natives and tourists alike. Hurricane Sandy has shown us the urgency of the situation. Beach renourishment needs to be addressed now, so future generations can enjoy the pristine beaches South Florida is famous for.”<br /> <em>— Maria Sachs, Florida state senator, District 34</em></p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960474460,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960474460,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="90" alt="7960474460?profile=original" /></a></p>
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<p>“I know this is a dead issue, but I think breakwaters are our best hope.”<br /> <em>— Donald Clayman, mayor of South Palm Beach</em></p></div>Dunes vs. Sea Walls: Natural vegetative dunes may be the best defensehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-natural-vegetative-dunes-may-be-the-best-defen2013-10-02T17:30:00.000Z2013-10-02T17:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960470283,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960470283,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="538" alt="7960470283?profile=original" /></a></strong><em><strong>FORT LAUDERDALE :</strong> Intense beach development without building up a vegetative buffer offered little resistance when Sandy overran A1A in Fort Lauderdale. <strong>2012 photo by Susan Stocker/Sun-Sentinel</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><strong><strong>A <em>Coastal Star</em> Special Report:</strong></strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Hurricane shows just how fragile our shores are<br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Sand is finite:</strong> Sand becoming a <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lessons-learned-from-sandy-sand-becoming-a-precious-commodity">precious commodity</a> | A <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-lexicon-of-sand">lexicon</a> of sand <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Dunes vs. Sea walls:</strong> Stopping <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-stopping-sand-loss-is-a-complicated-business">sand loss</a> is a complicated business<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Who is taking action?:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-lawmakers-discuss-storm-recovery-efforts">Lawmakers</a> discuss storm recovery efforts | Local officials sign on to beach management <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officials-sign-on-to-beach-management-a">agreement</a> | <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officals">Quotes</a> from local officials</p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>Editor's Note:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-lessons-learned-from-sandy">Lessons learned</a> from Sandy | <strong>Part II</strong>: <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rising-water-new-signs-of-rising-sea-levels-cause-concern">Rising Water</a></div>
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<p><strong>By Cheryl Blackerby</strong><br /> “Permanent solutions” was the continuing theme at coastal community meetings, where residents faced multimillion-dollar bills for beach replacement sand after Hurricane Sandy. What, they asked, could stop the sand loss and the need for expensive and frequent beach renourishment?<br /> But a permanent solution may be elusive, say experts, because beaches are not permanent.<br /> Coastlines are constantly moving with the moon, the tides, the littoral drift, and the certain storms on future horizons.<br /> “Beaches are a very dynamic habitat,” said Michael Stahl, a senior environmental analyst for the county’s Department of Environmental Resources Management. “Littoral drift, or longshore current, is the natural movement of sand along the beach, driven by wave energy.”<br /> But in the final analysis a year after the disastrous ocean surges of Hurricane Sandy, there was indeed a surprising beach defense that stood the test of Sandy — sand dunes, nature’s own fortification of barrier islands.<br /> In Palm Beach County, as well as New York and New Jersey, long-established sand dunes with native vegetation saved beaches and the houses behind them.<br /> The well-developed dunes at the Municipal Beach and neighboring oceanfront houses in Delray Beach generally withstood the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 as well as Hurricane Sandy and protected houses and A1A.<br /> Far-sighted officials started pumping sand onto the beach and building dunes in 1973 as a desperate measure after the ocean crept up to and often washed over A1A.<br /> But the crucial second step in the dune development came in 1984 when the city called in Robert Barron, owner of Robert Barron Coastal Management and Consulting, to plant sea oats and other native beach vegetation.<br /> “We planted a 6-foot strip of sea oats the entire length of public beach, 6,840 feet, for $22,000. Today, that strip has expanded on its own to 100 to 150 feet wide, and has captured sand and widened the beach,” Barron said.<br /> The slender 5-foot-tall sea oat is a powerful force of nature underground. Plants form networks of interlocking roots 5 feet deep and hundreds of feet long — a sand stabilizer that would be difficult for engineers to replicate.<br /> In addition to sea oats, Barron planted 20 species of native vegetation that has grown to over 60 native species. “It’s taken on a life of its own,” he said.<br /> Barron is now working as a consultant in Miami Beach and planting native species on dunes on 8.6 miles of beach. He is using Delray Beach’s Municipal Beach as a model for that project.<br /> But there are places — including beaches on Singer Island, Palm Beach and South Palm Beach — where dunes and even beach renourishment are not options because the beaches are adjacent to “hard bottom” exposed rock or coral.<br /> Dunes do release sand, indirectly creating a secondary benefit: Dunes act as “feeders,” losing sand into the water, which often comes back on shore as beach.<br /> “That shoreline is protected and designated as essential fish habitat,” said Stahl. “If you heap sand on the shore, it will eventually cover the hard bottom.”<br /> But on most beaches, dunes are the preferred first line of defense, Stahl said. “Certainly any kind of soft approach like beach renourishment and dunes are much better options for shoreline stabilization simply because you’re adding material the beach is comprised of. Anywhere we can build a dune project, that’s preferable.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960470662,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960470662,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="528" alt="7960470662?profile=original" /></a><em><strong>DELRAY BEACH:</strong> Years of nurturing and building up the dune in Delray Beach shows how a healthy dune can absorb the shock from a storm like Sandy and protect the property built behind it. <strong>2012 photo by Tim Stepien/ The Coastal Star</strong></em></p></div>Who's taking action: Local officials sign on to Beach Management Agreementhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officials-sign-on-to-beach-management-a2013-10-02T17:30:00.000Z2013-10-02T17:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><strong>A <em>Coastal Star</em> Special Report:</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Hurricane shows just how fragile our shores are<br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Sand is finite:</strong> Sand becoming a <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lessons-learned-from-sandy-sand-becoming-a-precious-commodity">precious commodity</a> | A <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-lexicon-of-sand">lexicon</a> of sand <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Dunes vs. Sea walls:</strong> Natural vegetative <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-natural-vegetative-dunes-may-be-the-best-defen">dunes</a> may be best defense | Stopping <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-stopping-sand-loss-is-a-complicated-business">sand loss</a> is a complicated business<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Who is taking action?:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-lawmakers-discuss-storm-recovery-efforts">Lawmakers</a> discuss storm recovery efforts | <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officals">Quotes</a> from local officials</p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>Editor's Note:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-lessons-learned-from-sandy">Lessons learned</a> from Sandy | <strong>Part II</strong>: <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rising-water-new-signs-of-rising-sea-levels-cause-concern">Rising Water</a></div>
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<p><strong>By Tim O’Meilia</strong><br /> The mid-Atlantic coast earned all the headlines last October when Hurricane Sandy pulverized the New Jersey coastline, blacked out Manhattan momentarily and flooded New York City subway tunnels.<br /> Nearly forgotten was the $30 million in damage to Palm Beach County public beaches and structures, plus more than $6 million to damaged and demolished private sea walls in Manalapan and thousands more to dune crossovers and condo beaches when Sandy brushed by the county.<br /> Perhaps there’s not much coastal cities can do to defend against rare, catastrophic events like Sandy — other than cross fingers and say, as Ocean Ridge Town Manager Ken Schenck said, “We hope it doesn’t happen again” — but local, state and federal officials were already creating a long-term approach to protecting South Florida beaches.<br /> The result is the so-called Palm Beach Island Beach Management Agreement, officially signed in late September by an array of officials. Eighteen months in the making, the BMA is a unique, first-time regional approach to beach management.<br /> The concept is to establish an inlet-to-inlet examination of coastal needs — in this case, the 15-mile shoreline between the Lake Worth and Boynton inlets — instead of the typical project-by-project approach.<br /> “It’s essentially a gigantic conceptual permit that covers multiple projects and multiple applicants over a regional scale,” said Danielle Irwin, a deputy director in the state Department of Environmental Protection, who spearheaded the effort.<br /> The plan is not to start from scratch to get approval for each beach restoration or dune improvement project, but to establish a regional framework so that work can be permitted more quickly and with a broader eye toward its effect regionally. “The goal is healthier beaches and better resource management,” Irwin said in a June statement.<br /> Irwin had hoped to get the five municipalities along the coast to sign the deal, plus Palm Beach County and various state and federal agencies.<br /> The cities were needed because ongoing funding is necessary to pay for long-term monitoring of beach width, hardbottom and sea turtle nesting. The idea was that the state and federal marine, wildlife and other agencies could agree to use the same data in determining approval of projects.<br /> “For the first time in history, local, state and federal agencies are working together,” said Irwin, only half-joking.<br /> However, Manalapan, Lantana and South Palm Beach balked initially because none had a project included in the BMA. Lake Worth did not become involved in the discussions.<br /> But when Palm Beach agreed to pay for monitoring for the four towns — about $360,000 annually — approval by the others was no longer needed. Palm Beach County is paying the remainder of the estimated annual $472,000. Palm Beach stands to gain the most from the BMA, since its four already-approved projects are included.<br /> A $561,000 environmental study is under way for a $3 million to $5 million project that would install seven submerged groins and 75,000 cubic yards of sand between the northern boundary of South Palm Beach and the former Ritz-Carlton Resort, including the Lantana public beach.<br /> If the project is approved, it could be included in the BMA and permits for the periodic replenishment of sand later could be approved more quickly and with less expense.<br /> Although money from Palm Beach County and Palm Beach is committed toward the long-term monitoring and towns are committed to paying their share of any approved projects, the state and the Army Corps of Engineers are not committed to contributing.<br /> The South Palm Beach-Lantana project would depend on a 50 percent share by the state.<br /> “The state is a party to the BMA,” said South Palm Beach Town Manager Rex Taylor. “But they’re the only ones signing on with no financial commitment.”</p></div>Who's taking action: Lawmakers discuss storm recovery effortshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-lawmakers-discuss-storm-recovery-efforts2013-10-02T17:30:00.000Z2013-10-02T17:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><strong>A <em>Coastal Star</em> Special Report:</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Hurricane shows just how fragile our shores are<br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Sand is finite:</strong> Sand becoming a <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lessons-learned-from-sandy-sand-becoming-a-precious-commodity">precious commodity</a> | A <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-lexicon-of-sand">lexicon</a> of sand <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Dunes vs. Sea walls:</strong> Natural vegetative <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-natural-vegetative-dunes-may-be-the-best-defen">dunes</a> may be best defense | Stopping <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-stopping-sand-loss-is-a-complicated-business">sand loss</a> is a complicated business<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Who is taking action?:</strong> Local officials sign on to beach management <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officials-sign-on-to-beach-management-a">agreement</a> | <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officals">Quotes</a> from local officials</p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>Editor's Note:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-lessons-learned-from-sandy">Lessons learned</a> from Sandy | <strong>Part II</strong>: <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rising-water-new-signs-of-rising-sea-levels-cause-concern">Rising Water</a></div>
<p><strong>By Cheryl Blackerby</strong><br /> In the months after Hurricane Sandy, community leaders looked at severe damage to beaches and worried about how to pay for it. Then they made frantic calls to state lawmakers.<br /> State Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, walked the beaches, listened to residents at community meetings, and fielded questions from Boca Raton City Council members about the possibilities of state and federal help.<br /> Getting federal money can be a frustrating and often futile process, but Hager persevered.<br /> “One area I visited in Delray Beach, for example, I saw 50 feet of dunes washed away, and the repair was to be quite costly,” he said. “Working with the city of Delray Beach, the Army Corps of Engineers and Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection, I was able to assist in the restoration project being completed in a timely and efficient manner.”<br /> Because the federal government did not recognize the damage as being an emergency, he said, the coastal communities were not able to receive federal funding.<br /> “But working with the Florida House and Senate last session, several of our beaches were able to receive state funding,” Hager said. “This included $1,114,000 for Ocean Ridge, $550,000 for Singer Island, and $790,000 for Boca Raton, and a commitment from the chair of the Environmental Appropriations Committee to work on more funding in the upcoming budget for Palm Beach County’s coastal communities.”<br /> State Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, had worried about beach damage long before Sandy.<br /> “In 2007, I convened a meeting along with then-Sen. Jeff Atwater, to discuss how the cities, counties and state could work together on shore protection issues. Unfortunately, as mayor of Lake Worth, I had very little pull and the effort failed, largely due to lack of interest from the Department of Environmental Protection,” Clemens recalled.<br /> “Fast forward to 2011, and subsequent to my election to the Florida House, I met with the DEP to pitch the idea of treating these issues holistically, rather than one crisis at a time.”<br /> The result was the pilot program called the Beach Management Agreement.<br /> “When complete, the project will boast an optimum beach profile that will allow the county and municipal partners to react more quickly to storm damage, dramatically reducing the wait time on permits,” he said.<br /> Other efforts weren’t so successful. “Also this year, the state increased the beach nourishment budget, although the House did not meet the Senate in fully funding the program,” Clemens said. “(But) I’m proud of the work we did in focusing on this issue in the Senate.”<br /> On Jan. 3, former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The next day she helped pass bipartisan legislation that provided disaster relief to areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy.<br /> “Passing this aid represents a big step forward because people are hurting and communities are trying to rebuild,” she said.</p></div>A lexicon of sandhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/a-lexicon-of-sand2013-10-02T17:30:00.000Z2013-10-02T17:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>Beach renourishment:</strong> Renourishment is a modern term used for sand replacement on beaches that have lost sand to erosion or storms. Replacement sand comes from offshore dredging near the beaches or is trucked in from inland Florida mines.<br /> <strong>Breakwater:</strong> A structure protecting a shore area, harbor or basin from waves. It can slow erosion rates landward, but often exacerbates erosion seaward, altering shoreline and water dynamics.<br /> <strong>Dunes:</strong> A mound, ridge or hill of drifted sand along the coast. They are considered the best defense against beach erosion.<br /> <strong>Groin:</strong> A shore-protection structure, usually built to trap littoral drift or retard erosion of the shore. Its length may vary from tens to hundreds of meters extending from a point landward of the shoreline out into the water. Groins may be classified as permeable (with openings through them) or impermeable. Groins, like breakwaters, are controversial.<br /> <strong>Jetty:</strong> A structure built out into the water to restrain or direct currents, usually to protect an inlet or harbor entrance from silting and shoaling, not to protect shorelines from erosion.<br /> <strong>Littoral drift:</strong> Shores are generally considered fluid and ever-changing because of littoral drift, the sedimentary material moving parallel to the shoreline in the nearshore zone by waves and currents. Littoral currents run parallel to the beach and are usually caused by waves striking the shore at an angle.<br /> <strong>Revetments:</strong> Structures that cover sloping shores or river banks to absorb the energy of incoming water as a defense against erosion. They can be rocks or concrete, and even wood.<br /> <strong>Surge:</strong> Storm surge is produced by water being pushed toward the shore by the force of the winds around a storm. The wind trajectory around Hurricane Sandy led to the development of large, long-period northeast swells — estimated to be as high as 20 feet at the Palm Beaches. This rise in water level can cause extreme flooding in coastal areas, particularly when storm surge coincides with normal high tide.</p></div>Lessons learned from Sandy: Sand becoming a precious commodityhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lessons-learned-from-sandy-sand-becoming-a-precious-commodity2013-10-02T16:30:00.000Z2013-10-02T16:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960469701,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960469701,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="145" alt="7960469701?profile=original" /></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><strong>A <em>Coastal Star</em> Special Report:</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Hurricane shows just how fragile our shores are<br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Sand is finite:</strong> A <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-lexicon-of-sand">lexicon</a> of sand <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Dunes vs. Sea walls:</strong> Natural vegetative <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-natural-vegetative-dunes-may-be-the-best-defen">dunes</a> may be best defense | Stopping <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dunes-vs-sea-walls-stopping-sand-loss-is-a-complicated-business">sand loss</a> is a complicated business<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Who is taking action?:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-lawmakers-discuss-storm-recovery-efforts">Lawmakers</a> discuss storm recovery efforts | Local officials sign on to beach management <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officials-sign-on-to-beach-management-a">agreement</a> | <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/who-s-taking-action-local-officals">Quotes</a> from local officials</p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>Editor's Note:</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-lessons-learned-from-sandy">Lessons learned</a> from Sandy | <strong>Part II</strong>: <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rising-water-new-signs-of-rising-sea-levels-cause-concern">Rising Water</a></div>
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<p><strong>By Cheryl Blackerby</strong></p>
<p><br /> Hurricane Sandy had a diabolically ironic name. In October 2012, Sandy stole millions of tons of sand, washing it off Florida’s beaches and from underneath beachside condos, and carving five-foot cliffs where there had been gently sloping shores.<br /> Floridians learned two hard truths about sand: It’s expensive and it’s finite.<br /> In the year after Sandy, there has been much hand-wringing over what will happen to Palm Beach County beaches in the future, where new sand will come from and who will pay for it.<br /> The mammoth Superstorm Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record measured by diameter with winds spanning 1,100 miles, skirted Florida as a Category 1 hurricane.<br /> Floridians’ relief that the storm had bypassed them was short-lived. Sandy reminded them of a word that would change the way they would look at hurricanes in the future: surge.<br /> Sandy didn’t do its damage with high winds or torrential rains, but rather with large swells and powerful ocean surges.<br /> The wind trajectory around Sandy produced what meteorologists call an optimal fetch, a phenomenon that led to the development of large, long-lasting northeast swells that battered the South Florida coast. The storm peaked the weekend of Oct. 27.<br /> The pounding surf led to large breaking waves, some estimated as high as 10 feet at Miami-Dade County beaches, and 20 feet or perhaps higher at the Palm Beaches.<br /> The second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history ultimately caused $68 billion in damages on the entire Eastern Seaboard, and most of it came from surge, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<br /> In Palm Beach County, the total damage to public beaches was estimated at over $30 million. “This includes sand losses at every one of our beaches in addition to structural damages at our beach parks,” said Leanne Welch, program supervisor of Shoreline Enhancement and Restoration for the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Where’s the money?</strong><br /> To repair Sandy’s damages, towns and government agencies scrambled for money from a variety of sources including county reserves for emergency repairs to county parks and the South Lake Worth Inlet jetties; the “Beaches” funds (funded by tourist bed taxes), state funding and federal appropriations.<br /> “No FEMA money was available for the Sandy impacts. The federal money came through the Flood Control and Coastal Emergency appropriation by the Army Corps of Engineers,” Welch said.<br /> Beach preservation groups popped up and commenced meetings, including Protect Our Beaches — which signed up 24,000 members within weeks — Save Our Seacoast, and the Florida Coalition for Preservation. The Delray Beach Property Owners Association attracted record attendance with discussions about solutions for beach erosion.<br /> And Sandy raised a two-word specter that further horrified coastal residents — sea rise.<br /> What would happen to the beaches if sea-level rise, caused by climate change, further depleted the beaches? Suddenly, symposiums and meetings on the subject, such as the Sea Level Rise Symposium in July at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, founded by Palm Beach billionaire Bill Koch, attracted standing-room-only crowds.<br /> Coastal cities that had depended on federal and state money for beach replacement sand for hurricane-damaged beaches in the past found that money had dried up, particularly after the colossal damages from Sandy in New York and New Jersey. Now, small towns faced multimillion-dollar hurricane damage bills.<br /> “There’s going be a big grab for federal money with the issues in the Northeast,” said Art Koski, the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District acting director, after Sandy. “The city is looking for FEMA money. But I don’t think we have the strength politically.”<br /> Historically, the federal government had paid for about 70 percent of beach restoration, Koski said, which left 30 percent to be paid by state, county and local governments, but in the future the entire cost may fall on local governments.<br /> This was particularly troubling to the district board, which reimbursed the city of Boca Raton $2 million, in addition to a partial reimbursement of $2 million already paid, for a beach restoration project that took place several years ago. The board didn’t anticipate paying for additional beach restoration projects for another five to 10 years. Yet, board members were faced with substantial costs for more beach destruction.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Sand running out</strong><br /> After Sandy, there was another shock besides the costs of beach restoration. Coastal residents found out their offshore sand wouldn’t last forever.<br /> Dredging can only be done in a narrow ribbon of shallow water between shore and reefs. On the other side of the reefs, the water drops off too deeply for even the biggest dredges.<br /> Florida municipalities were pitted against each other in what became bitter debates over sand. Miami Beach was running out of offshore sand after Sandy and Miami-Dade County officials looked longingly at the sand off the coast of Jupiter, whose residents and city officials loudly voiced their disinclination to share.<br /> The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hosted public hearings in Martin and St. Lucie counties, which have a surplus of sand in federally designated waters, for a proposed renourishment project that would use Treasure Coast sand to repair Miami-Dade beaches.<br /> “Miami has gone to great lengths to exploit its resources. Don’t solve Miami’s problems here,” said Martin County Commissioner Sarah Heard, whose irritation was echoed by legions of Martin County officials and residents.<br /> “Miami decided over-development was good for business, and they exploited the environment, and they’ve used up all their sand,” Heard said.<br /> Martin County on the other hand has been what Heard calls an “extraordinary steward” of its resources. “We have four-story height limits. We have setbacks that are great, and we protect our wetlands. Our resources are finite and we need to protect them for long sustainability.” She said commissioners have been told they have enough sand for about 50 years of traditional dredging.<br /> This isn’t the first time Miami has gone after Martin County sand, Heard said. “Miami proposed this about six years ago, and Ken Pruitt (Florida state senator at the time) said ‘over my dead body’ and it went away.”<br /> She had strong words for counties to the south: “If we allow Miami, Broward and Palm Beach County to steal our sand, we have less protection for our barrier islands.”<br /> Farther south, cities including Delray Beach have been concerned Miami may look their way.<br /> “We heard from the Corps that those folks to the south of us are not interested in the sand we have here,” said Paul Dorling, planning and zoning director for Delray Beach. “We don’t know why. Could be color or texture. But for whatever reason, we’re glad they’re not interested.”<br /> “Miami doesn’t have our plentiful reserves of sand,” said Richard Spadoni, executive director of Coastal Planning and Engineering in Boca Raton, the company that administered the Delray Beach renourishment project.<br /> “Miami may have to borrow from the Bahamas at some point. They are close to depletion.”<br /> But Delray Beach’s sand reserves won’t last forever either, Spadoni said. “Sand does not come back into the borrow holes, and we are depleting the sand. But Delray will be OK for the next 40 or 50 years.”<br /> That estimate relies on no more Sandys and that sand is dredged only at 10-year intervals.<br /> At some point, experts agree, Palm Beach County’s offshore sand will run out. When that happens, officials say the available options will be to bring it in on barges from the Bahamas or truck it in from inland Florida mines, both highly expensive undertakings. And who will pay for it?</p></div>Along the Coast: County and town of Palm Beach paying for inlet-to-inlet sand planhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-county-and-town-of-palm-beach-paying-for-inlet-to2013-09-04T17:34:17.000Z2013-09-04T17:34:17.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tim O’Meilia</strong><br /><br />Best case scenario: seven submerged groins and a beach 50 feet wider in South Palm Beach and Lantana by February 2016.<br />That’s not as much as everyone wants, but it’s likely the most anyone’s likely to get.<br />South Palm Beach Mayor Donald Clayman wants offshore breakwaters. Surfrider Foundation wants the sea turtles to be able to nest. Manalapan wants to make sure the sand still drifts south. Reef Rescue wants the hardbottom uncovered for marine life. South Palm Beach Councilwoman Stella Jordan wants geo-tubes considered.<br />And everyone wants someone else to pay for it. <br />The long-running saga of protecting South Palm Beach oceanfront condos and Lantana’s public beach took favorable turns last month:<br />• A $561,000 environmental study critical to the approval of a beach renourishment project will be completed by April. A favorable conclusion means a $3 million to $5 million groin-and-fill project could be approved and started by the winter of 2015, assuming state and local money is available, said Leanne Welch, Palm Beach County environmental resource manager.<br />• There’s enough sand off shore in Palm Beach County for the next 50 years to assure the area’s current nine beach renourishment projects (plus additions) will have beach-worthy sand, although the quality will diminish with time. A federal and state study concluded that after studying the sand needs for the five-county area from St. Lucie to Miami-Dade counties. <br />• Neither South Palm Beach nor Lantana nor Manalapan nor Lake Worth will have to pay a share for long-term monitoring of the beach, hardbottom or sea turtles along the 15-mile stretch between the Lake Worth and Boynton inlets. Palm Beach County and the town of Palm Beach will pick up the tab for that, estimated at $475,000 annually.<br />That makes it more likely that those towns will sign a regional beach management agreement designed to streamline and shorten the permitting process and take a broader approach to beach management.<br />“It’s the first time in history the state and federal and local governments are working together,” Danielle Irwin, state deputy director of water resource management, told the Manalapan town commission Aug. 27, only half-joking. <br />Once approved, projects included in the BMA would have an easier path to re-approval for follow-up restoration, estimated at every three years for the South Palm Beach-Lantana work.<br />Palm Beach and the county both signed the agreement last month. Manalapan commissioners want to poll beachfront owners before signing. <br />“This is a point for Manalapan. Something that doesn’t cost us a dime that lets us know what’s going on on our beach,” said Commissioner Howard Roder.<br />South Palm Beach council members favored signing. “It’s a better, faster, less costly way of doing business,” Palm Beach Mayor Gail Coniglio told South Palm Beach council members Aug. 27.<br />“We need to do it. We need to sign it,” said South Palm Beach Councilman Robert Gottlieb after a joint meeting with Lantana commissioners Aug. 13 in South Palm Beach. <br />Lantana Mayor David Stewart was skeptical that his commission would sign the agreement, although he supports the local project. “You don’t know the costs down the road. If it’s $5,000 to $10,000 then you know but if it’s more, that’s not something we want to commit to,” he said.<br />Aside from long-term monitoring costs shared by Palm Beach and the county, those who sign the agreement would not be committing to any expenditures beyond whatever projects they are involved in, such as the South Palm Beach-Lantana project, Irwin said.<br />The cost of the environmental study, which includes a companion beach restoration project in Palm Beach and is not a part of the regional plan, will be shared. Palm Beach will pay $335,000, the county $173,000 and South Palm Beach $43,000 for the study. <br />While South Palm Beach officials favored a more aggressive approach to beach protection, Welch reminded them that county commissioners dropped plans and the Army Corps of Engineers would not approve plans for breakwaters last year. <br />“No one want to go in with something that’s not going to be permitted,” said Lantana’s Stewart. “Even if it’s not the best answer, it might be the only answer to get permitting.”</p></div>Along the Coast: Rebuilding under way on beacheshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-rebuilding-under-way-on-beaches2013-02-27T20:30:00.000Z2013-02-27T20:30:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p><span><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960432691,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960432691,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="334" alt="7960432691?profile=original" /></a></b></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Workers prepare the concrete cap for replacement of one of many <br /> seawalls damaged during Hurricane Sandy along the beach in Manalapan.</em></p>
<p><em><b> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960434059,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960434059,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="334" alt="7960434059?profile=original" /></a></b></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>More than 150 truckloads of sand were hauled to the north end of Delray Beach. A massive project to pump in sand starts in March.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em> <b>Photos by Jerry Lower/<br /> The Coastal Star</b></em></p>
<p><span><b>By Cheryl Blackerby<br /></b></span></p>
<p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has asked for additional monitoring and reporting of wildlife, particularly sea turtles, since the Delray Beach beach renourishment project is scheduled to begin after turtle season’s start on March 1.</p>
<p>The additional tasks include shore bird monitoring, light monitoring at the dredge site on the beach, leatherback turtle monitoring from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m., nest relocation reporting and monitoring of the steep slope of cut off beach at the shoreline, called an escarpment. “We amended the opinion we did in September 2011 for the planned beach renourishment,” said Jeff Howe, biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Vero Beach, who is working on the Delray Beach project.</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960434097,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960434097,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="334" alt="7960434097?profile=original" /></a><em>Sand dredged from the Boynton Inlet will flow through these pipes <br /> to replenish Ocean Hammock Park in Ocean Ridge. </em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">“We will have to do early morning sea turtle surveys,” he said, giving an example of turtle monitoring.</p>
<p>The National Marine Fisheries Service has jurisdiction over swimming turtles that may be affected by 24-hour offshore dredging for about six weeks. The FWS has jurisdiction over nesting turtles on land.</p>
<p>Additional tasks include extensive escarpment reporting with weekly surveys that will include mitigation for any escarpment exceeding 18 inches in height and 100 feet in length and submittal of annual summary reports for up to three years.</p>
<p>Increased lighting survey reporting and additional reproductive success reporting for each of the three turtle species also will be required.</p>
<p>In response to the additional monitoring tasks, John Fletemeyer, who will do the monitoring for the city, has requested more compensation to cover the added tasks in the amount of $12,600 in 2013 and $14,400 in 2014 to the existing yearly contract amount of $38,750. He asked the commission to authorize this amendment to the last two years of his three-year agreement for sea turtle monitoring through Oct. 31, 2014.</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960434269,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960434269,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="334" alt="7960434269?profile=original" /></a><em>A 30-foot-tall tripod-like vehicle arrived on Delray’s beach to help <br /> with survey efforts needed before sand can be pumped from the ocean floor.</em></p>
<p><em> </em>A drop-off in turtle nesting might happen in the first year after dredging, but turtles will usually return the second year,” said Scott Pape, senior planner with the city of Delray Beach.</p>
<p>“You can’t predict what will happen, but we’ve experienced statewide a drop-off in turtle nesting in the first year after beach renourishment projects. I expect we will see a curve with the turtles coming back the second year,” he said.</p>
<p>The sand trucked into the dunes on the beach north of the city’s municipal beach was a response to the surge from Hurricane Sandy, he said, and not part of the long-range plan. For small dune projects such as that one, it is usual procedure to buy inland sand, he said.</p>
<p>The dune project won’t include the replacement of vegetation including sea oats lost in the storm, he said, adding that much of the vegetation is expected to grow back.</p>
<p>A convoy of trucks lined up on A1A Feb. 19 to deliver the 2,500 cubic yards of inland sand at a cost of $138,666 to the dunes to the north of the city’s beach as part of the city’s Emergency Dune/Beach Restoration Project, according to information released by the city. The city received a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Project to use sand from a mine in Moore Haven, 90 miles from Delray Beach.</p>
<p>Funding for this project is expected to be included within the financing package to pay for the regularly scheduled dredge project.</p>
<p>The north beach is outside the routine 10-year renourishment plan. That $9.2 million project includes beaches that run from just north of Atlantic Avenue to 700 feet south of Linton Boulevard. More than 1 million cubic yards of sand will come from offshore dredging.</p>
<p>Beach property owners had asked the city to seek an emergency state permit to put additional sand north and south of the planned project because of sand loss in those areas and damage to the dunes.</p>
<p>There are no plans presently to bring sand to the beach south of the regularly planned renourishment.</p>
<p>The dredge that will be used offshore for the Delray Beach project is dredging the Port of Palm Beach and the Palm Beach Inlet. The red, 305-foot-long Texas is one of the world’s most powerful cutterhead dredges. The overall length of the big dredge with the idler barge is 594 feet, almost two football fields.</p>
<p>Richard Spadoni, executive director of Coastal Planning and Engineering in Boca Raton, the company that is directing the dredge work, said the dredge will move offshore Delray Beach around mid-to late-March with work continuing for about six weeks. Before dredging starts, pre-construction activity will include stockpiling of piping and other materials. The sand replacement will start near Atlantic Avenue and work south.</p>
<p>There are two miles of public beach in Delray Beach, and together the Atlantic Dunes Park and Delray Municipal Beach attract about 1 million visitors a year, a huge tourism draw, according to the Downtown Development Authority.</p>
<p>Boca Raton also is trucking in inland sand to repair damaged dunes on the north beach. The 5,000 tons of sand — 3,600 cubic yards — will cost about $170,000.</p>
<p>“It’s a small dune project. It’s 2,000 feet in length. It starts at the northern end of Red Reef Park and runs south,” said Jennifer Bistyga, coastal program manager for the city of Boca Raton.</p>
<p>Sand is expected to be delivered in the first part of March. “It shouldn’t take long, at most 10 days, and the best case scenario is five or six days,” she said.</p>
<p>Boca’s beaches are broken into three areas and are on different renourishment schedules: The north beach is on a 10-year cycle, the central beach is on an eight- to 10-year cycle, and the south beach is between six and eight years.</p>
<p>And, of course, storms may accelerate those schedules, like Sandy did for the north and central beaches, which are still recovering from Sandy.</p>
<p>“But we’re seeing sandbars offshore, and some of that sand will be coming back. And we look a lot better than beaches in other areas such as Fort Lauderdale,” she said.</p>
<p>At least part of the reason Boca’s beaches fared so well was the dunes. “We have such a great dune system, and that took a beating but that’s the dunes’ purpose,” she said. <br /> Ocean Ridge’s beaches will get restoration next year. The Army Corps of Engineers approved the county’s assessment of damage at Ocean Ridge’s beach, according to Dan Bates, deputy director of Palm Beach County Environmental Resource Management.</p>
<p>Beach-compatible sand from the dredging of Boynton Inlet, which is under way, will go to Ocean Ridge Hammock Park.</p>
<p>Many residents are worried about how beach restoration will affect turtle nesting season, which began March 1 and lasts through Nov. 1.</p>
<p>“In Boca, they won’t be doing any work at night and so that will have no impact. If they have a dredge in Delray, they will be pumping 24 hours a day, and generally for a project that size they will allow nests to be relocated,” said Kirt Rusenko, marine conservationist at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.</p>
<p>The first turtles to arrive on beaches are leatherbacks, but those are very few. Rusenko counted 33 leatherback nests last year from March to June, and 994 loggerhead nests from May 1 to Oct. 31. Rusenko said the permit from the Department of Environmental Protection allows him to move turtle nests if necessary.</p>
<p>Sandy’s surge left escarpments as high as 4 and 5 feet on Boca and Delray beaches. If turtle nests are found at the foot of cliffs and are in danger of being washed out, those nests will be moved, Rusenko said. </p>
<p>And turtles will most likely move along the shore until they can get onto the beach and find a place to nest. </p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960433886,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960433886,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="334" alt="7960433886?profile=original" /></a> <em>Imported sand trucked in from a mining site south of Lake Okeechobee is lighter-colored than the natural sand already on Delray’s beach.</em> </p></div>Editor's Note: Forge strong bonds to withstand nature’s furyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-forge-strong-bonds-to-withstand-nature-s-fury2013-01-02T19:14:11.000Z2013-01-02T19:14:11.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p> A walk along Manalapan’s beachfront is a dramatic illustration of the adage, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”<br /> Towering steel seawalls riddled with huge, rusted, Swiss cheese-like holes lay bowed seaward before eroded pits where lawns, patios and pools once stood. Where one of these failed seawalls connects with another of newer construction, the strain of the connection is obvious: In some cases it forced the collapse of the neighboring wall.<br /> In the aftermath of local wave damage and flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy, discussions of coastal armoring and beach renourishment have become topics for heated discussion among individual homeowners and community leaders.<br /> These discussions are essential. When it comes to beaches, seawalls and bulkheads, we all have a lot to learn. There’s private vs. public, seawalls vs. dunes and the impact of rising sea levels on the beachfront and along the Intracoastal Waterway. <br /> Why do we need to spend our sunny days in paradise studying these issues? Because they affect our safety, our property values and any hope we might have of passing along our barrier-island home to future generations.<br /> Whatever is done in one town will impact the others. Until we all get together and find common ground with a barrier-island master plan for coastal preservation, we will be subject to the whims of nature.<br /> The time is now, and we can’t afford to be cheap. Unless we are prepared to let our beaches, dunes and bulkheads go au naturel, it’s going to take money. We need to educate ourselves to make smart decisions, devise plans and guidelines and then intelligently execute on those plans.<br /> Anyone who believes that you can live in paradise without paying for it is the weak link in our chain. <br /><br /><em> Mary Kate Leming, Editor</em><br /><br /></p></div>