Just recently, the ACE (American Corp of Engineers)  has released it’s ‘’final plan’’ for the mid reach (the 7.8 miles of beach from south end of PAFB to north Indialantic). Public comment is open until January 30.

This section of beach has been spared the type of large-scale dredge-and-fill ‘’beach renourishment’’ projects that have ruined surfing and fishing up and down our coast. Because of the unique coquina reef which is a Federally protected fish habitat, the ACE has had to formulate a plan ‘’they say’’ will only bury a few acres of reef. We all know how accurate the ACE is at predicting the outcome of their projects (not). 

Many of us who use this area understand what a treasure we have in this reef. The structured bottom creates some of the best surf in Florida. No need to name spots, but you know where they are. The beach fishing is nearly as famous as the surf spots; the reef supports a wide variety of species by providing habitat and food. Anyone who has been snorkeling in the area knows how rich it is in life, and there’s nothing else like it in Brevard County. The proponents of this project are very careful to never use the word reef, they always use the word ‘’rocks’’. This shows the type of contrived thinking in which they engage.

 In addition to being environmentally disastrous, this project is also an incredible waste of our Federal, State, and local tax dollars. It’s a bail-out for the people who own structures built way too close to the power of the Atlantic Ocean. The initial cost is ‘’only’’ $33M, but over the life of the project its $163M. The primary justification for the project is $11.5M PER YEAR of ‘’storm damage reduction’’ in that 7.8 mile stretch – that is, the damage to structures will be $11.5M/yr less with the project, compared to no project. An independent peer review of the ‘’plan’’ seriously questioned this number, but the ACE is sticking with it…

The people who frequent this forum are among the primary users of this resource. Let us be its primary defenders. SAVE THE REEF!

Stay tuned.  More details to follow.....

Sebastian Inlet Chapter - Surfrider Foundation

http://sebastianinlet.surfrider.org//

 

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Edited: 01/09/2012 at 01:32 PM by Baggins

Where can the public comment?... thats such a shame I really hope the dredging is put off again

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Has any plans been made public, just wondering how far out they plan to fill.   Man, the reefs are sure looking good right now.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

American Corpse of Engineers

ACEs for sure.

I remember talking to one of A.C. Engineers back in 2000 or 2001 as they were pumping sand on Melbourne beach. I asked him if they were coming back next year to dump more. The guy said it will last about 7 years. I asked him if he lives in FL, he said no. I asked where he was from and he said the Great Lakes area. I told him he'll be back next year. He argued with me after I stated facts I knew.
Well, low and behold, the sand was gone from the storms, mostly NorEasters.
Funny how they seem to be so good at predicting the outcome of their projects(not).

You can read Surfrider's official comment letter from 2010 here.

LINK

Be sure to copy the letter you write to your county and state representatives, since they control the purse strings and may be up for an election in November.

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http://www.vacationsbygreg.com
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Thanks For The Support!!! :)

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The issue here is that the structures that are close to the ocean are exposed due to the loss of sand between them and the ocean. So, for the beachside land-owners its a matter of possibly losing their home during an event such a surge or hurricane. True, one reason sand isnt being replenished efficiently is because the fact that the buildings are there, and they block sand from refilling in from behind. 

If there were no buildings on the barrier island, then the location/width of the island would constantly be shifting with the seasons and years....this means that in maybe 50-100 years time, you would see serious land mass shifting...IF this was still the case today, one must assume the reefs would also constantly be being covered, and exposed at different rates, as the land shifts. The ecosystem exsisted this way for thousands of years before mankind placed structures on the island....and its was a constantly shifting...and adapting....now when I say constantly, you have to think on a longterm slow rate shifting (+10 years)....but the habitants adapt slowly to the changes....and flourished for years like this

 

But the fact of the matter is mankind is here, and we have placed structures on the dunelines which we now need to stabilize from recession. By placing the building here in the firstplace we already disrupted the intial natural "flow" (if you will) of the sand, but its not like your going to tear down every building on the island and start from scratch....so the only answer is to protect our structures. Personally, I beleive there are better methods of protection than dumping sand on the beach, such as geotextiles which can be placed beneath the dunes...but you have to understand, that no matter what method is chosen...the fact is that the reef bottom will always be adapting to what happens on shore, and eventually reaces its equilibruim point...the reef is exposed today may actually be less than what was exposed before humans even settled on the island...think about that

 

So since this thing is probably happening no matter what lets get into.....

 the worst case senario, they dump sand on the stretch of beach as planned...then later on we have the biggest storms we have ever seen, a large amount of sand might end up being taken off the beach and into the water, but  understand that even if it settles over reef area, it will eventually balance itself out over a relatively short period of time...(-5 years)....and the fish will be adapting constantly to waht is happening...

FinGuru ... you have absolutely know idea what you are talking about ..... with the proof being in this completely misguided statement: "Personally, I beleive there are better methods of protection than dumping sand on the beach, such as geotextiles which can be placed beneath the dunes" Geotubes have NEVER proven to be of any value in sand retention. They have only been successful in making money for those that sell and install them (over and over as they continually fail).

The tax paying public DOES NOT need to protect private structures built on fragile, naturally eroding coastal systems.

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"Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do." - Bertrand Russell


"Morality is doing what is right, regardless of what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, regardless of what is right.


If I do not answer you .... nothing personal, I just have you on ignore.

 

False, the Geotextiles have been proven to stabilize the dunes and vegitation lines for events like water surges and wave action. Beleive me....its the best solution for this issue...what you want to do is stabilize the vegitation, like seagrapes, grass, and such...

 

When you say, the tax paying publix DOES NOT need to protect private structures...nobody was disagreeing with you....I made the observation that the natural flow of sand has already been changed due to the human presence...so there is no natural way to go forward from here...but rather the best solution with the least impact on both worlds....

 

This all concerns the physical problem at hand...we are trying to control something that is meant to be constantly shifting. What im focused on is the part where the beaches shift and the sandbars change. (which is the isssue that most surfers who are involved care about)

 

 

Listen....im not touching the political debate with a ten pole...so dont stuff word into my mouth... When ya said "I have absolutely "know" idea what Im talking about"...had to laugh about your insult, meanwhile you mispelled no...

I care about what happens to the beaches, sandbars, and ocean. Not the politics of where tax payer money gets spent....

Perhaps you would like to find ONE documented case of when and where a Geotube installation has worked in anything resembling similar conditions to this area. I have forgotten more about these useless POS than you will ever know or no.

BTW .... you misspelled vegetation.

And while you looking for documentation on those Geotube POS's .... find me documentation of when a dredge & fill has ever proven to be anything other that a medium to long term detriment to surfing / fishing sandbars and near shore reef systems.

You can not separate the funding, tax payer and political portions of these projects from the other parts. Each is a fundamental component and must be considered.



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"Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do." - Bertrand Russell


"Morality is doing what is right, regardless of what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, regardless of what is right.


If I do not answer you .... nothing personal, I just have you on ignore.

Well, technically LBLarry, dredge and fill did create the Super Bank on Australia's Gold Coast (though at the cost of completely choking off Kirra down the point). Look, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but it's going to happen. The only way that you could possibly stop this is to somehow prove that there's more money being generated for the county and state by surfing and surf fishing than from tourism and oceanfront home owner tax revenue.

Well technically ... superbank was not created by a dredge & fill. It is the by product of sand by-pass pumping. Which is a approach that has been advocated by many including numerous ocean / beach / fishing advocacy groups.

-------------------------
"Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do." - Bertrand Russell


"Morality is doing what is right, regardless of what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, regardless of what is right.


If I do not answer you .... nothing personal, I just have you on ignore.

Listen, Either way, it's trying to happen without polling the public who use the beaches, which is PUBLIC land. As an active Surfrider member, I'm thrilled that there is discussion on this forum. The point is that you as citizens have a right to speak up and make an opinion regarding the issue. We are stepping up to try and prevent this from happening and we need the public's help. Real estate taxes and tourist dollars or not, make sure you act. More will come regarding what you guys as surfers can do to help stop this or at least open up the dialog.

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"Should have been here yesterday, It was firing"

 

sometimes when they do dredge and fill...the result is an even better surf break temporarily....remember ocean ave? ever seen been to virginia beach? these are a few dredge projects where we immidiately saw benefits...Im not promoting dredge and fill....however, i gotta say that for the past year (one year after the dredge and fill in indialantic) my sand bars had never been better, until recently...personally i think alot of places had better sandbars a year ago...but its all shifted...thats the point, even when projects come through, you will see a recovery in the beach system, where it wil reach equilibruim again....

 

and there are tons of cases were geotextiles have proven themselves....do a google search, and read a few reports...go to school

 

When yall start talking about how taxpayer money should be spent....i just want you all to consider the possiblilites and outcomes of what will happen. on the physical side... There are lots of solutions besides dredge and fill, but much more costly....so its likely that they will continue on their course of action, since there is no alternative. The govt isnt gunna let all the condos from S. PAFB to Indialantic fall into the ocean....and as a surfer, i dont want them to fall in either...i can understand the feeling against paying tax for someones private home to be protected from storms, but at the same time...having that private home wash into the ocean is something i would rather prevent then have to deal with afterwards....and thats the gist of it...its all prevention....if you think RC's will get messed up by dredging?? how about if a condo collapses into the ocean?? Thats why action must be taken before...  everybody has to contribute to preservation of the coastline, not just the people who own coastline, but the people who enjoy it for recreation too.... in fact recreational users of beaches and coastlines should equally care about what happens to the beach systems....so really it is on all of us. the beaches are public, and you can get on the sand in indialantic and walk to patrick air force base if you so please....and you enjoy this because it is all maintained by tax dollars....so doesnt everybody share the beach equally in that regaurd?

 

Typical BS. This project isn't going to affect whether the condos ''fall in'' or not. It's just a bunch of beachface fill that will be gone in the first hours of any major storm event, before the arrival of the real surge. The problem is that this fill will be coming down onto a very unique and valuable reef just because of normal beach dynamics.

At least you do admit it's all about protecting these structures. Maybe you should add in the part about condo dwellers not wanting to stub their toes on those pesky ''rocks''. The smokescreen of ''recreational benefits'' and ''storm damage reduction'' for structures off the beach has been lifted.

And I understand why you don't want to talk about the $s. If I was advocating wasting hundreds of millions of tax dollars I wouldn't want to talk about it either.

the only BS is see is your comments about stubbing toes...as if millions of dollars is being spent because of complaints about stubbing toes on rocks....

 

if the beachface fades, eventaully the dunes will suffer loss, then you will see results when its too late....thats why you do prevention...you dont wait until it gets so bad its about to fail...you prevent it from happening...

 

If they dump the sand on the beach like they plan on ,and you do see a major storm which sweeps a large volume of sand off the beach. Its not just gunna settle over the reef rock and stay there. The sand will eventually move on, and flow like it should. Worst case senario, the reefs will expeirence a slight adjustment period after a large storm, but it will move on. It may not change overnight, but you will see the recovery of the beach system, and reefs. Remember!, these habitats were constantly changing before humans settled on the barrier island. Big storms would move sand over reef areas, and eventually it gets uncoverd later. its just a constantly shifting ecosystem. dont look at it as staying in one state. The condition of the exposed reef was different 5 years ago, yet today they still flourish...

 

Nothing stays the same, the marine ecosystem is constantly adjusting to our human presense...

 

Its no smokescreen about structures falling into the ocean....im not saying we are one storm away from failure, but its obviously that there is enough threat to spark all this dredging talk....

You obviously weren't at the infamous 9/8/05 meeting if you don't remember the ''stubbing toes'' reference. Either that or you're extremely naive and don't think the bleating of the condo owners has anything to do with this. They had a whole powerpoint presentation about their (proposed) nice wide sandy beach, which was contrasted with pictures of those pesky ''rocks''.

I'm glad you emphasize prevention. Prevention in the long term means adhering to sane limits on high-density structures built right in the dune line. Almost all the properties you're trying to protect with bandaids are the result of a variance or conditional use permit granted to developers by local governments that purr like kittens when the developers scratch their bellies.

In the meantime, I don't think the people who knowingly built and bought properties right on the edge of a high-energy coastline, destroying the dune system in the process, deserve a taxpayer bailout in our current fiscal climate.