May 2024
FACT SHEET
Fort Pierce Beach, FL
Construction (C)
Congressional District: 21
1. DESCRIPTION
The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1965 (Public Law (PL) 89-298) authorized the Fort Pierce Shore Protection Project (SPP) to restore the shoreline 1.3 miles south of Fort Pierce Inlet. The initial project was completed in 1971 with the placement of 718,000 cubic yards from a nearshore borrow area. Federal participation was extended from 10 years to 15 years under the authority of Section 156 of the Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) of 1976 (PL 94-587). The extended authorization also indicated that periodic nourishment interval to be every five (5) years. The first nourishment occurred in 1980 with approximately, 346,000 cubic yards being placed.
Federal participation expired in 1985, but a Section 934 report was approved by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASA) and completed in June 1995 which provided for a nourishment interval of seven (7) years. After which, Section 506 WRDA 1996 (PL 104-303) authorized extension of Federal participation to a period of 50 years beginning on the date of initiation of construction of the project. Section 105 WRDA 1996 also authorized preparation of a General Reevaluation Report (GRR) to evaluate the feasibility of extending the 1.3-mile project an additional one (1) mile south. A draft GRR was completed in 2004 but a final version was never completed or approved.
From 1999 to 2005, approximately, 2,200,000 cubic yards was placed in the original authorization. In the 2006, a Limited Reevaluation Report (LRR) reassessed the GRR because of this high volume. The LRR was approved in September 2007 with recommendation to keep the original 1.3-mile footprint (the additional one (1) mile south was not economically justifiable) but changed the nourishment interval to every two years. Section 1158 WRDA 2018, (Public Law 115-270) extended the eligibility for a six (6) year extension. WRDA 2022, Public Law 117-328, further amended Section 156(e) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1976, Public Law 94-587 (42 U.S.C. 1962d-5f(e)), increased the eligibility for 12 years to 2032.
2. FUNDING
| Estimated Total Cost |
$95,300,000 |
| Estimated Federal Cost |
$63,600,000 |
a. Regular Civil Works Funds:
| Allocation thru FY23 |
$49,815,000 |
| Allocation for FY24 |
$8,367,000 |
| President's Budget FY25 |
$0 |
b. P.L. 117-58: Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Law:
| Total Work Plan |
$2,500,000 |
| Allocation for FY23 |
$2,477,000 |
| Allocation for FY24 |
$0 |
3. SPONSOR
St. Lucie County Erosion District
2300 Virginia Avenue
Ft. Pierce, Florida 34982
4. STATUS
6,700,000 cubic yards of material has been placed within the project footprint since initial construction completed in 1971 to 13th nourishment recently completed in 2023. Beach quality sediment used for initial construction and the first nourishment (1980) was from a nearshore borrow area. The Capron Shoal is the current borrow area source for the project and has been in use since the 2nd nourishment event that occurred in 1999. The Capron Shoal is located within state waters and is approximately 4.25 nautical miles southeast from the placement area from southern jetty of Fort Pierce Inlet. Once dredged vessel is located north of the southern jetty, material is then pumped southward via a pipeline onto the 1.3 miles of shoreline. Project is currently under preconstruction engineering design phase with expectation the project will be physically completed by 30 May 25.
