Posted on January 8, 2024
Santa Rosa County Commissioners next week are expected to approve a $6,031,336 grant agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for renourisment of Navarre Beach.
The initial Navarre Beach nourishment project took place in 2006. The renourishment interval for the project is estimated at 8 to 10 years, depending upon the level of storm impacts on the beach.
The first major re-nourishment project occurred from April to June 2016 and included placing 1.31 million cubic yards of sand.
Brennan White and his sister, Raina, pictured shelling on Navarre Beach during the 2016 renourishment project
On September 16, 2020, Hurricane Sally made landfall about fifty miles west of Navarre Beach. The post-storm survey indicates the project lost 254,222 cubic yards of sand due to Hurricane Sally.
The Board has determined to pursue a project that replaces the sand for a full renourishment of the Beach (estimated at an order of magnitude of about 1,250,000 cy).
Gulf Island National Seashore has opened the door to discuss extending the project further west, which would help with end losses the project experiences on the west end.
FEMA has stated that no sand can be placed fronting the County Park due to the County Park being within a Coastal Barrier Resources Area Zone, which withdraws the availability of federal funding and financial assistance within storm-prone and dynamic coastal barriers.
The FDEP grant agreement allows the project construction and monitoring costs to be split 50/50 with $6,031,336 contributed by FDEP and #$6,031,336 by Santa Rosa County.
