- April 20, 2024
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Volusia County will receive a $5 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to help with beach and dune sand placement as part of the ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian and Nicole.
On Tuesday, Dec. 6, the Volusia County Council unanimously approved a grant agreement with FDEP. The scope of the grant was kept vague, being only cited as "consists of construction" in the grant agreement, to allow the county flexibility regarding the beach's needs, said Jessica Fentress, county coastal division director. The county is working on an agreement that will allow it to mine sand from the Florida Inland Navigation pit, to ensure that sand isn't collected from other sand sources accessible to the public, an action county staff hopes will reduce the chances of artificial price inflation due to its significant demand.
Fentress said staff hopes to have that ready for council review at the Dec. 20 meeting.
"We hope to start moving some sand in the next three weeks," Fentress said. "We're going to focus first on our stockpile that we have in Bethune — we're going to move those to county assets, and I've got a lot of grassroot contacts ... when we get to the point of placing material, adjacent to private properties, we are going to need to reach out to our contacts so that we can get the easements."
The county is still vying for a federal feasibility study with the Army Corps of Engineers, Fentress added, and county staff are hopeful for a future beach restoration project as elected officials in the House and Senate appear to be supportive.
Since Hurricane Nicole, the county has been able to reopen seven out of its 33 beach ramps.
"Unfortunately, half of our ramps are basically total rebuilds at this point," said Ben Bartlett, Volusia County public works director.
The county is identifying repair projects, working with FEMA for reimbursement, and having engineers begin design and work on permitting associated with the projects. Ramps are being opened to allow contractors to perform private property repairs, though they are warned of the ramp's disrepair, Bartlett said.
Of the county's 140 walkovers, about 30 are open. Coastal staff are working to increase public access to the beach by installing temporary stairs where possible.
"We've enlisted road and bridge help in trying to get as many of those access points, ramps, and everything open as possible and as quick as possible," Bartlett said.
Coastal damage is estimated at $30.6 million — about $14.5 million as a result of Ian, and $16 million caused by Nicole, Bartlett said.
