Jacksonville, Fla. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District invites the public to comment on the St. Lucie County Coastal Storm Risk Management Study. A public comment period starts Monday, May 2, and ends June 17, 2016.
The Corps and St. Lucie County will host a meeting June 2 at Jensen Beach.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. with a sign-in and the availability of subject matter experts to discuss study information and answer individuals’ questions. A formal presentation starts at 7 p.m. Following the presentation, the Corps invites attendees to provide comments for inclusion in the study. Subject matter experts will also be available following the formal portion of the meeting.
The meeting location is at the Regency Island Dunes, 8650 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, Florida 34957.
All study documents are located at http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/ShoreProtection/StLucieCounty.aspx.
In addition to providing comments at the public meeting, community members and agency officials can send written comments to Paul.E.Stodola@usace.army.mil or:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District
Planning and Policy Division, Environmental Branch
Attn: Paul Stodola
P.O. Box 4970
Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019
In summary, the tentatively selected plan (TSP) derived from the study consists of beach nourishment at the South Hutchinson Island reach along approximately 3.4 miles of shoreline between Florida Department of Environmental Protection monument R‐98, just north of the Normandy Beach access, to the Martin County line. The design beach is characterized by a 20 foot berm extension from the bottom of the dune profile.
To build the project, the Corps proposes to use dredged sand from the St. Lucie shoal, which contains compatible sand and has a sufficient quantity to support a 50‐year project cycle. During the study the Corps considered using trucks to transport sand as a possible option, but it was too cost prohibitive
The total project cost is estimated at $72 million over the 50-year project life. The initial project construction cost is estimated at $30 million, and future renourishment costs are estimated at $21.3 million per nourishment. Cost sharing for the initial construction is 26 percent federal and 74 percent non‐federal; cost sharing for periodic nourishments is 21.5 percent federal and 78.5 percent non‐federal. The non‐federal sponsor is St. Lucie County.