Posted on September 15, 2025
Beach preservationists and coastal communities are sounding the alarm over federal spending cuts for money allocated for sand erosion and replenishment projects across the country.
The federal fiscal year 2025 budget included no beach erosion renourishment money for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“They provided no funding for beaches,” said Howard Marlowe, president of the American Coastal Coalition as well as president of Maryland-based Warwick Group Consultants LLC.
Marlowe has tracked federal spending on beach erosion and replenishment projects for decades and said this is the first time the Army Corps’ budget has been zeroed-out.
Beach nourishment projects entail bringing in new sand to replenish shorelines and installation of dunes, seagrass and other natural buffers.
There are still funds for beach projects in federal disaster packages.
But uncertainty about the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and increased beach erosion from hurricanes and tropical storms, as well as rising sea levels, have sparked consternation about the future of coastlines.
President Donald Trump’s administration is looking at a downsizing or reengineering of FEMA and turning over more disaster response to state government.
The American Coastal Coalition, American Shore and Beach Preservation Association as well as states and local communities that rely on federal funding to help counteract beach erosion are lobbying Congress to include funding in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
ACC would like to see Congress allocate $200 million toward beach renourishment projects.
ACC Executive Director Dan Ginolfi said the current House FY 2026 budget allocates $25 million to the Army Corps of Engineers for beach projects.
“We have been tracking coastal funding for 30 years. The inflation adjusted average is $166 million per year, and that is inadequate because several projects are only getting 85% of the sand they need,” Ginolfi said.
He said dredges are needed and there are projects with “tight environmental windows.”
“This compresses the timeline heavily and only one or two bidders per project ultimately leads to higher costs,” he said.
Beach erosion
The funding cuts are impacting nourishment projects on the Jersey Shore and could impact beaches in Delaware and Ocean City, Maryland.
ASBPA Executive Director Nicole Elko prefers proactive and planned beach replenishment funding rather than approaching the issue reactively after hurricanes and other storms.
Elko said $200 million annually would be “a smart way” for beach management investment from the federal government.
Warmer ocean temperatures have resulted in larger, more destructive hurricanes and tropical storms, flooding and eroding beaches along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
“Beach erosion impacts are becoming more severe,” Elko said.
Ginolfi agrees.
“The need for beach nourishment has increased in recent years due to storms and erosion,” Ginolfi said. “Beach nourishment is the best solution for maintaining sandy beaches and protecting life and property from storms and wave attack. In order to reduce dredging costs, we need greater competition in the dredging market.”
Elko said climate change has also brought higher sea levels and more dangerous “king” tides.
Current disaster supplemental beach and shoreline erosion funding includes $67 million to restore beaches in Sarasota and Manatee counties hit by Hurricane Milton; $2 million to repair the Marshall Levee System in Minnesota and $18 million for erosion mitigation work in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Elko said states and local communities usually rely on federal funding for beach projects, including constructing or replenishing dunes.
Some of those projects have been fully reliant on federal money while others have 65%-35% federal, state/local split.
A bulldozer pushes sand on the beach in Bay Head, N.J. on May 17, 2024. New Jersey officials say the state’s beaches largely came through the winter in decent shape, but serious erosion remains a problem in a few southern New Jersey shore towns at the start of the summer season.
In addition to their economic and tourism impacts, beaches are home to their own ecosystems and help filter oceanic waters and their dunes serve as buffers against floods and storm surges.
Beach erosion projects are slated in Florida, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and other coastal states.
Jon Kramer, interim city engineer in Venice, said local beaches impacted by Hurricane Ian in 2022 are slated for a $22.6 million sand replenishment project.
Hurricane Ian inflicted $112 billion in damage, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
That’s the most costly in Florida history and third most costly in U.S. history.
“Beach renourishment remains a state and federal legislative lobbying priority for the city,” Kramer said.
Officials in Sarasota County said right now their federal beach funding is coming from federal disaster and FEMA allocations with the area still feeling the impacts of recent storms.
Some Florida coastal communities are also facing challenges with federal funding because of the Army Corps requirements of getting easement agreements from beach property owners.
“The federal spending cuts are not directly impacting our nourishment projects,” said Tony Fabrizio, spokesman for Pinellas County.
The county includes St. Petersburg and Clearwater and was hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year.
“We are unable to access federal funding because we cannot meet the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ requirement to obtain perpetual easements from all property owners where sand has traditionally been placed,” Fabrizio said.
The west front of the Capitol is seen in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, where the flags have been lowered to half-staff after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Elko said the easement problem has been a challenge for Florida beach projects.
She said there are some instances where localities, such as Dare County on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, pay for beach infrastructure and sand projects themselves
Fabrizio said a new $125 million nourishment project is being funded by local hotel bed taxes and state grants.
But for the most part, they rely on federal funding for all or most of the tab.
