Posted on November 18, 2024
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. – The beaches along the Pinellas County coastline are the lifeline of the area’s economy, and it took the brunt of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“Our beaches are what people come to Florida for,” State Rep. Linda Chaney said. “We have to protect them.”
State and county leaders say the need for beach renourishment is even more dire than before, especially before another storm.
“What we are currently seeing is up to a million cubic yards of loss, and that is absolutely dramatic,” Pinellas County Public Works Director Kelli Levy said. “For comparison purposes, we put about 1.2 million cubic feet of sand on the beach when we nourished in 2018.”
Pinellas County leaders are strengthening their push for support from the Army Corps of Engineers to get these beach renourishment projects underway as soon as possible.
“Our first and foremost pathway is with our partners, the Army Corps of Engineers, and working with them to find a way to make this project come to fruition soon, like really soon,” Levy said.
County leaders say beach renourishment plans have stood at the ready for the last several years but have been stalled, waiting for approval and funding from the federal government.
“After Hurricane Idalia, our beaches were five feet lower in elevation than they are during our regular nourishment process,” Pinellas County Commission Chairwoman Kathleen Peters said.
Peters says that if all the beaches had been fully renourished prior to Helene and Milton, there could’ve been significantly less damage on parts of the islands.
“They told us that our beaches were considered in the red, meaning there’s really just not much more damage that we can sustain,” Levy said.
Levy says the county has been designing a project of its own for rebuilding the beaches, and it’s submitted emergency permit requests to the Army Corps of engineers.
“When you maintain infrastructure, you can’t just do it one time, alright,” Levy said. “This is something that needs periodic maintenance.”
The county’s economy relies on this maintenance to continue drawing residents, visitors and businesses to the beaches.
“Tourism is our number one economic driver,” Peters said. “So, our beaches are our best quality asset when it comes to tourism.”
If the county can’t approve beach renourishment plans from the Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government, leaders say they’re exploring a different avenue and a backup plan to get the beaches renourished before another storm.
“The county is prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure that we bring our beaches back, to protect our properties,” Peters said.
County leaders also addressed concerns about delayed permitting processes in municipalities around the county.
“There’s very specific requirements for regarding damage assessment, and we have to follow that FEMA process,” County Administrator Barry Burton said. “Each individual city has the control over that damage assessment process. They’ve asked for additional assistance. The state has provided additional resources, and they’re almost through those inspections. Now they have to do the substantial damage letters.”
Hurricane related debris being removed from Pinellas County beaches by crane.
The county says it’s trying to expedite this process, but it asks residents to continue to be patient.
