A Coastal Star Special Report:
Hurricane shows just how fragile our shores are
Sand is finite: Sand becoming a precious commodity | A lexicon of sand
Dunes vs. Sea walls: Natural vegetative dunes may be best defense | Stopping sand loss is a complicated business
Who is taking action?: Lawmakers discuss storm recovery efforts | Quotes from local officials
By Tim O’Meilia
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
“For the first time in history, local, state and federal agencies are working together,” said Irwin, only half-joking.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The South Palm Beach-Lantana project would depend on a 50 percent share by the state.
“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.”
Comments