Janelle Irwin Taylor
Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters led a delegation of local officials to Washington, D.C., this week to fight for beach nourishment needed after a devastating 2024 hurricane season.
The visit this week follows Peters’ additional efforts to restore federally funded beach nourishment along Pinellas County’s Gulf Coast. That includes multiple discussions with both the former and current White House administrations, as well as a letter to President Donald Trump last month that was sent with the support of the entire County Commission.
“Our meetings at the White House, Capitol Hill and the Pentagon were incredibly productive,” Peters said. “The necessity of beach nourishment for Pinellas is clear to all — we need sand back on our beaches to protect our infrastructure and economy, and to preserve our way of life.”
At issue are necessary beach nourishment projects on Sand Key, Treasure Island and Long Key that are currently on hold due to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requirement that all property owners sign over easements allowing public access and use when sand is placed. While the rule has long been in place, the Army Corps previously worked with the county to place as much sand as possible in nourishment areas utilizing construction easements.
The Army Corps is now offering no wiggle room on its easement policy, which requires 100% participation. The county has not met that threshold, and the deadline for doing so passed last week. As of the Friday deadline, 170 easement documents remained unsigned.
The county has been working on a plan for a county-led project while still pressing federal officials for relief on easement language that would make it easier to obtain federal help.
Joining Peters on the Washington trip were fellow Commissioner Chris Scherer, County Administrator Barry Burton and Public Works Director Kelli Hammer Levy.
The group had a meeting at the White House, followed by meetings with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who have been advocating for federal relief in Pinellas, which Luna represents. Meetings were also held with U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody’s staff, as well as with Army Corps Acting Principal Deputy Secretary Stacey Brown.
“We look forward to continued dialog with our federal partners and are incredibly thankful to Senators Scott and Moody and Congresswoman Luna for continuing to advocate for us in D.C,” Peters said.
Typically, the federal cost share for beach nourishment projects is 65%. Projects have taken place periodically on Pinellas beaches for decades.
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,” Commissioner Brian Scott said last week at a meeting encouraging residents to sign the easement documents. “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.”
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 normal process, which allows the Army Corps to complete nourishment on the federal government’s dime.
