Anna Paulina Luna calls Donald Trump to intervene in Pinellas County beach nourishment holdup

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is calling on President Donald Trump to use his executive authority to remove roadblocks stopping Pinellas County from moving forward with critical beach nourishment needs.

In a letter to Trump Wednesday, Luna asks the President to “direct the United States Army Corps of Engineers to allocate the appropriate amount of Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies funding required to support the immediate construction” of Pinellas County’s Shore Protection Project.

The project would provide beach nourishment in Sand Key, Treasure Island and Long Key, as well as other areas along Pinellas County’s Gulf Coast, that have suffered erosion from recent storms.

In her letter, Luna notes the $745 million included in the American Relief Act for funding “for necessary expenses to prepare for flood, hurricane, and other natural disasters.”

The nourishment project is more important than ever, after Hurricanes Helene and Milton brought damaging winds and storm surge to Pinellas County and other parts of Florida’s West coast within two weeks of each other this past Fall. The storms were particularly impactful to Pinellas beaches, which were left vulnerable after delays to nourishment projects.

At issue is an Army Corps requirement that 100% property owners of beach property sign easement documents granting public access to their land. Pinellas County was unable to secure all of the required signatures needed for the nourishment projects by the Army Corps deadline, which came and passed on Friday.

“These back to back hurricanes destroyed what was left of the county’s shore protection infrastructure, leaving homeowners and business owners completely exposed to any future severe coastal weather events and to the 2025 hurricane season,” Luna wrote.

She described the Army Corps policy as a “bureaucratic roadblock” that is preventing “timely construction of this project.” 

While the rule has long been in place, the Army Corps had previously worked with the county to place as much sand as possible in nourishment areas utilizing construction easements.

Luna further noted that some damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton might have been avoided had there not been delays to beach nourishment. Luna wrote that 13 people died in the storm and said she estimates property damage in excess of $3 billion.

She requests that Trump waive its easement policy requirements, noting that “a major focus” of his administration has been “to reduce bureaucracy and streamline the completion of infrastructure projects.”

Luna’s letter comes after Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters led a delegation of county officials to Washington, D.C., to meet with various federal officials to push for federal help completing the stalled nourishment projects.

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.

The group had a meeting at the White House, followed by meetings with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and Luna, who have been advocating for federal relief in Pinellas. Meetings were also held with U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody’s staff, as well as with Army Corps Acting Principal Deputy Secretary Stacey Brown.

Typically, the federal cost share for beach nourishment projects is 65%. Projects have taken place periodically on Pinellas beaches for decades.

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.”

Peters also sent a letter to Trump with a similar ask last month.