Time is running out for post-hurricane beach nourishment in some Gulf beach towns

Image via Pinellas County

Several Pinellas County Commissioners and Indian Shores Mayor Diantha Schear pleaded with property owners Thursday to sign documents needed to move forward with beach nourishment in Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores and Redington Shores.

The deadline to complete construction easement documents is Friday. Currently, documents for 170 easements remain unsigned. The easements are part of the Sand Key nourishment project, which includes coastline from North Redington Beach to about Sand Key.

Commissioners Dave Eggers, Chris Latvala, Kathleen Peters and Brian Scott, along with Schear and Sen. Nick DiCeglie, were on hand for a “Signing Day” in Indian Shores at the Indian Shores Municipal Center.

After Hurricanes Idalia, Helene and Milton brought destruction to much of the state, including Pinellas beaches, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing to require all property owners to sign easements, which grants the Corps permanent access to that portion of their property.

While residents are frustrated with what they see as a sudden hard line in the sand — pun intended — the Corps policy has been in place since the 1990s, though officials acknowledge they’ve taken a less stringent approach in the past to enforcing the rule.

With strict adherence now in place, officials are finding it near impossible to gather the easement signatures needed to move forward with the project, with some residents refusing and others unable, as they live elsewhere in the country.

“Plain and simple, we need to get our beach nourishment projects done,” said Peters, who has helped lead the fight to get the Sand Key project authorized. “We need residents to sign their easements so we can do that. We need sand for storm protection, for property values, for tourism, and so our beaches don’t go back to the way they were in the 1980s, where they had seawalls and steps to get down to the water.”

Beach nourishment doesn’t just keep the beach full of sand and ready for recreation; it’s also a critical storm mitigation tool. A bit of erosion is normal as waves carry sand off the beach. But when storms hit, that erosion can be exacerbated, grabbing massive amounts of sand from the beach and carrying it back to the Gulf. Sandy beaches, dunes and sand berms all act as a barrier to the rest of coastal areas, including private properties where owners are being asked to provide perpetual easement access.

The Army Corps has taken its hard-line stance now because officials realize patchwork nourishment is ineffective.

“If we don’t get all the easements, and we can’t nourish the entire beach, basically what we have is a bucket with holes in it,” Scott said. “And we all know water is going to go where the least resistance is, and that is not a resilient solution for us long-term. So please come down and sign your easement so we can get this project going.”

The rule is also important to the Army Corps because federal law doesn’t allow spending on private beaches. Without the construction easement documents signed, some of the property that needs nourishment remains private. That disrupts the nourishment process, which allows the Army Corps to complete nourishment on the federal government’s dime.

Property owners within the Sand Key nourishment zone who still have not signed easement documents have through Friday to do so. To sign, or to ask questions, email [email protected] or call 727-464-7799.