Beach project set for '10 But money for renourishment may fall short; possible stimulus funds unknown

Beach project set for '10

But money for renourishment may fall short; possible stimulus funds unknown

By PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 04/27/09

ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH -- Before you ask St. Augustine fisherman Alexander Steiner what he thinks about putting tons of renourishment sand on St. Augustine Beach, you'd better pack a lunch.

He'll warm up to the subject quickly, remembering the exact day, month and year of the last renourishment: Aug. 8, 2005.

"We (fishermen) hate it," Steiner said while fishing for pompano, sea trout and drum near the end of the County Pier.

When the beach is renourished, fishermen on the pier wouldn't be able to reach the water, he said.

But local officials have glorious visions of sand -- the more the better -- protecting city homes and infrastructure, drawing tourists here and providing a strong buffer for storms.

Experts have said the pier area is a "hot spot" that loses sand faster than the rest of the beach.

Last week the city learned that its 50-year beach renourishment project is on schedule and that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors will begin pumping millions of yards of sand around County Pier next year.

"It's ill-sited," Steiner grumbled at the news. "They're putting sand where it's never going to stay."

However, given Florida's tight financial condition, this renourishment might not be as complete as in past years, when times were better. Department of Environmental Protection officials in Tallahassee have privately said the state's bare bones budget may not be able to afford $500,000 in required matching funds.

St. Johns County Engineer Press Tompkins said, "They told me, 'This (matching money) could be at risk.' They said to be prepared for the worst."

But, Tompkins added, the $7 million in federal money came from an appropriation after Tropical Storm Faye.

"(Renourishment) creates a lot more tourism," Tompkins said.

Doug Tobin, press secretary for the DEP, had no specific information about that money.

"We're still looking at funding based on the Legislature's 2009 and 2010 budget," he said.

To meet St. Johns County's matching fund requirement, the Tourist Development Council saved roughly $200,000 in bed tax dollars for beach renourishment. So even if the DEP money magically appears, the total matching amount from county and city is $700,000 -- only half the $1.36 million that's needed.

One local official, who didn't not want to be quoted, said, "They'll still do the project (without all the matching money), just maybe not the whole thing."

Right now, stimulus money doesn't appear to be in the picture.

The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association of Caswell, N.C., a lobbying group which says it has defended beach preservation since 1926, issued a statement claiming that the federal Office of Management and Budget "pulled funding for every beach renourishment project from the stimulus list prepared by the Corps of Engineers."

Harry Simmons, the association's president, said renourishment projects on the stimulus list have gone "back and forth. We don't know how it will turn out."

The final list will be released to the public next week, he said.

U.S. Rep. John Mica (R, Winter Park) said the stimulus list "really doesn't affect our project. It will be under way. We'll just have to rely on regular apportionments. (But) if we could get the extra money, it would help."

An April 15 Philadelphia Inquirer story by Anthony R. Wood and Jacqueline L. Urgo about renourishment of the New Jersey shore said Congress and some state delegations had pressed the OMB to release renourishment money, saying beaches "are important to tourism and critical for flood protection."

Steiner knows the benefits of renourishment but is still skeptical.

"Millions and millions of dollars will be gone," he said. "It's money better spent elsewhere."

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Beach Notes:

* Two billion people visit America's beaches every year.

* In 2007, beaches contributed $322 billion to the nation's economy.

* For every dollar the federal government spends on preservation, it gets $320 in taxes back.

Source: The American Shore & Beach Preservation Association


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