Bill Would Revamp How Coastal Aid Is Allotted
State Sen. Debbie Mayfield has introduced a bill that would overhaul how Florida funding for beach preservation projects is decided.
Under her coastal management bill, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's "criteria for ranking beach and inlet sand management projects will be refined to better capture the economic importance of healthy beaches to tourism, storm damage reduction and resource protection," said Mayfield, a Melbourne Republican.
Debbie Flack, president of the Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association, which supports the bill, said Mayfield's proposal would provide a "much more refined" set of criteria for the state's allocation of money for beach and inlet restoration projects.
That funding totaled $50 million in both the state's fiscal 2017-18 and the current fiscal 2018-19, which will end June 30.
"I think there is a recognition that beaches are Florida's brand," and it is important to provide adequate and appropriate state funding for beach projects, said Flack, who leads an organization that includes representatives of coastal cities and counties.
Mayfield's bill is meant to address failures in Florida's beach management program.
The Naples Daily News explained those failures in a four-day series of stories published in 2016. The Daily News' investigation found that even though beaches bring in billions annually for the state in tourism-related sales taxes, Florida's lawmakers and governors in the past typically returned less than 1 percent to the shoreline every year.
The series also revealed how local governments carry the greatest burden of replenishing beaches. In some cases, coastal communities unable or unwilling to manage their beaches have seen their shores wash away.
After the Daily News series, former state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, twice filed legislation to shore up the state's eroding shoreline. Both bills sailed through the Florida Senate but died in the Florida House.
Sebastian Inlet District Administrator Martin Smithson said Mayfield's bill "is a very positive step in refining the approach to rank Florida's valuable beaches needing state funding assistance. I know there is a need to revamp it."
Florida has more than 800 miles of sandy coastline, Mayfield noted.
"Our beaches are one of Florida's most valuable resources, serving as critical habitat for species of plants and animals, attracting visitors and new residents to the state, as well as providing a line of defense during major storm events," said Mayfield, whose legislation is Senate Bill 446.
State Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, sponsored companion legislation, House Bill 325.
Money spent on beach renourishment projects has a strong return on investment, in terms of tourism and other economic benefits, LaMarca said.
"I think this is a very meaningful legislation that will help one of the largest drivers of Florida's economy," LaMarca said, referring to tourism.
Mayfield said the bill "revises the criteria used by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to prioritize coastal restoration projects based on need and importance."
"Criteria for ranking beach and inlet sand management projects will be refined to better capture the economic importance of healthy beaches to tourism, storm damage reduction and resource protection," Mayfield said.
"There is also criteria added to rank projects based on federal and local matching funds, recreational benefits, project significance, project mobility, readiness to proceed, dune enhancement, habitat protection and strategies to conserve sand resources."
Flack said Mayfield's bill would provide "a fairly sophisticated framework" for beach project funding.
LaMarca said the bill also "focuses on effective sand management efforts at our inlets, which have long been considered the No. 1 cause of beach erosion on Florida's east coast."
"Inlets interrupt the natural flow of sand, often creating erosion on down-drift beaches," Mayfield said. "This legislation would enhance inlet funding and provide that the minimum amount of funding for inlets must be 10 percent of the appropriation for beach management. This change will refocus attention on effective sand management at our inlets."
Mayfield said the proposal "also increases transparency and accountability from the Department of Environmental Protection by raising their project reporting requirements."
The bill would create a three-year work plan "so that Florida can maximize federal dollars and local project sponsors can anticipate required funding needs, final design and secure permits so projects can proceed to timely construction," Mayfield said.
Flack said similar legislation was approved the past two years in the Florida Senate but did not come up for a vote in the state House. In 2018, the legislation was approved 36-0 in the Senate.
Flack said the legislation has had the support of the tourism and real estate industries.
The bill could affect various beach replenishment projects along the Space Coast, as well as an ongoing project in the Sebastian Inlet area.
The Sebastian Inlet District's just started project for channel maintenance and beach replenishment involves hydraulically dredging 150,000 cubic yards of sand from the inlet's sand trap and navigation channel leading to the Intracoastal Waterway.
The $2.95 million project, as part of beach restoration efforts in Indian River County, will move 120,000 cubic yards of sand to a 11/2-mile stretch of beaches starting at McLarty Treasure Museum and continuing south past the Ampersand Beach access.
An additional 30,000 cubic yards of sand will be stockpiled in the Sebastian Inlet District's "dredged material management area" for emergency beach fill and dune repair.
Smithson said the Sebastian Inlet District has applied for cost-share funding available through the Department of Environmental Protection. If awarded, 75 percent of the project will be covered by state money, and the remaining 25percent would be funded by the Sebastian Inlet District.
Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Readers can call Berman at 321-242-3649 or write to him at [email protected]. Twitter: @bydaveberman. Facebook: /dave.berman.54.
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