Walton plans for a second restoration

SANTA ROSA BEACH - Walton County may start a second beach restoration project to repair more than 12 miles of eroded coastline within the next year. The county Tourist Development Council hosted a workshop Thursday night to discuss its plans. The state Department of Environmental protection has labeled about 14.3 miles of beach in South Walton as critically eroded, according to the TDC. The beaches in Old Seagrove Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, Inlet Beach and Dune Allen Beach are among the worst. The TDC plans to restore 12.9 miles of beach at a cost of up to $60 million. The agency will use bed tax money to pay for a portion of the work, with the DEP kicking in up to 50 percent of the cost. Officials hope that work can begin at least a portion of the 12.9 miles within the next year, said Brad Pickel, director of beach management for the TDC.

The TDC recently completed a study to find out just how bad the beach erosion has become since hurricanes Ivan and Dennis. The news is not good, said Mike Trudnak, with Taylor Engineering Inc., the company hired by the TDC to study the beaches. The study found that an area of beach behind Four Mile Village near Sandestin has lost 65 feet in width over the past four years. That area and others are at an increased risk of damage from another hurricane because of the extent of the erosion, Trudnak said. "Every single beach in the county is in bad shape," Trudnak said at the workshop.

The TDC has found several sources of white sand in the Gulf of Mexico for the restoration. The next step is for the county to survey the areas and determine what sand will be used. It is unclear whether the TDC will restore the entire length of critically eroded beaches all at once or whether it will break the project down into smaller sections. That decision will be up to the Walton County Commission, which must approve the restoration plan before the TDC can design and obtain permits for the work. While that project moves forward, restoration of about one mile of beach in western Walton County remains on hold. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended that project until after Oct. 1 because too many endangered sea turtles died during the dredging process.

The restoration is slated to begin again sometime this fall. Pickel said that he is confident that the project will be completed sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, the Florida Supreme Court has been asked to rule whether beach restoration illegally takes property from beachfront property owners. If the court takes up the case, it could lead to major changes in the way the DEP issues permits for beach restoration. Pickel said Thursday that he thinks the Supreme Court will have a decision before the second restoration project begins. South Walton resident Billy Tagg, who attended Thursday's workshop, said that he's frustrated that the court case has delayed the restoration project. He said that the beaches need help now because buildings are in danger. "We can come up with seawalls and all kinds of other stuff, but sand is the only thing that will help," he said.

The Northwest Florida Daily News

Destin, 2 Counties remain committed to restoration

Officials from Okaloosa County, Walton County and the city of Destin remain committed to completing the halted beach restoration project in Walton County and Destin, with or without Great Lakes Dock and Dredge. Local officials met Monday morning at the Sandestin Hilton with representatives of the Chicago-based dredging company, originally contracted to restore about 7 miles of critically eroded beach in South Walton and Destin, to discuss the future of the project.

The project was halted by the Army Corps of Engineers in late May after a fourth sea turtle was killed during the dredging necessary to complete the restoration. Projects are allotted a number of turtle "takes" and the last turtle death saw the South Walton/Destin project meet its maximum number of turtle takes. The earliest the project could restart is Oct. 1, which marks the beginning of a new fiscal year and a fresh quota of turtle deaths. Jim Trifilio, beach projects manager for the Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council, said Monday's meeting started with Great Lakes representatives asking local officials how they wanted the details of the meeting handled publicly. Trifilio said both sides agreed that keeping the details of the meeting confidential would be an appropriate way to handle the negotiations. Brad Pickel, beach management coordinator for Walton County TDC, said the TDC was still committed to its partnership with Okaloosa County and the city of Destin to complete the project, and he also said he was not at liberty to discuss the details of the meeting with Great Lakes. Pickel or Trifilio also declined to discuss Great Lake's future involvement in the project or if any conflicts arose over the cost of completing the project.

The project was intended to add 80-100 feet of sand to about 5 miles of beach in Walton County and 2 miles in Destin, all of which was deemed "critically eroded" by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The project had restored 3 miles of South Walton beach and was to move west to Destin only weeks before the project was suspended. The restored beach was designed to protect upland structures from storms as strong as a Category 3 hurricane, which generates winds of 111-130 mph and storm surge of 9-12 feet. The original cost of the project was about $23 million but project organizers believe it will go up as a result of the stoppage.

The Destin Log