A.G. Gancarski
Jacksonville Beach has been strafed by two hurricanes in the last 13 months — Matthew and Irma. And now state money is requested for dune restoration.
On Thursday, Republican Rep. Cord Byrd filed an appropriations request for $2 million for coastal hardening via dune restoration.
The money, if approved, would come out of the Department of Environmental Protection budget. There is no lobbyist carrying the bill.
Though member projects have largely been discouraged by Speaker Richard Corcoran, a notable exception is work related to Hurricane Irma recovery.
This $2 million would protect property along 4.1 miles of oceanfront by closing breaks in the dune line. This project raises the height of up to 49 dune walkovers and extends the length of existing stormwater outfalls 10 feet seaward of the dune line.
Currently, breaks in the dunes allow ocean flooding during nor’easters and tropical storms, per the appropriations request.
Among the expected benefits of this project: improvements in public safety, transportation, and stormwater management.
One comment
David Bruderly
November 2, 2017 at 3:11 pm
This legislative budget request should be contingent on formal GOP recognition of the FACT that climate chaos and sea level rise are real threats to Florida and that associated risks are being made worse by human sources of greenhouse pollution and short-sighted economic development policies. Beach nourishment is a feel-good, knee-jerk political response will be a total waste of taxpayer monies if not linked to actions designed to reduce a major risk factor — climate pollution. It is time for GOP politicians to accept inconvenient facts, boring science and do something POSITIVE to mitigate risks created by accelerating climate chaos and sea level rise.
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