The Coastal Advisory Committee has just issued a warning. Let’s hope the decision makers pay attention.
The caveat is that shoreline resilience cannot be achieved without at least some hardening – the use of rocks and concrete to protect against intense coastal storms, especially over extended periods of time.
Hardening cannot simply be rejected out of hand. No jetties, groynes or water barriers means no long-term protection.
Why bring this up now?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is about to issue a recommendation to officials in Collier County, which relies almost entirely on sand and plants to protect buildings and infrastructure along the Gulf Coast. It’s called “nature-based” and it won’t get the job done.
Here’s how it all started.
About eight years ago, the county government partnered with the Corps of Engineers to develop a long-term plan to reduce the risk of coastal storm damage. Hurricanes Wilma and Irma underlined the importance of this.
A project was initiated in 2018, the first phase was a feasibility study that, if approved, would be followed by detailed engineering and ultimately a request for federal funds. The goal was a comprehensive 50-year project, likely costing in the billions. About 65% of the money to implement the first phases of the project would come from the FBI and 35% from Collier County.
As the feasibility study neared completion several years ago, costs rose significantly, invalidating the Corps of Engineers’ recommendations and essentially killing the project.
But no one was willing to give up, and another three-year analysis was started in 2022. Stymied by criticism of the initial study, the Corps of Engineers went to great lengths to ensure that everyone had an opportunity to provide input. Not surprisingly, the loudest voices received the most attention.
The loudest voices came from environmentalists across Southwest Florida. Academics and local conservation groups all called for an exclusively green approach: tall sand dunes; many plants, including mangroves; sandbanks; artificial barrier islands.
The Corps of Engineers relented and excluded all paving from its plan.
That alarmed some scientists, including members of the Coastal Advisory Committee who had seen the effectiveness of rocks and concrete on Florida’s east coast and elsewhere along the Atlantic coastline.
The concern of the Coastal Advisory Committee was and is not the nature-oriented approach, but the complete omission of added structures and paving. Even the Environmental Defense Fund has expressed concern.
The project is already burdened by many conditions and restrictions.
· The approach must be cost-effective in protecting buildings to justify the use of public money.
· The project is specifically intended to reduce losses and not prevent them.
· Some parts of Collier’s coastline are completely excluded from the study, for example Marco Island.
Is it too late to sound the alarm? It could be. Key elements of the Preliminary Selected Plan, due to be released in September, would be “locked in.”
Although time is running out, the Coastal Advisory Committee has chosen to warn the county commissioners of the almost certain failure of the USACE approach as it currently stands. A completely nature-based project would be a terrible waste of taxpayer money.
Coastal Advisory Committee Chairman Joe Burke, an experienced professional engineer, says, “It would be a mistake to impose an artificial deadline on this important project. The experts need time to evaluate the different approaches and economic consequences. And at least a 90-day review period should be allowed.”
Let’s hope it’s not too late to save this important program.
Dave Trecker of Naples, a Ph.D. chemist, is vice-chairman of the Coastal Advisory Committee.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: No coastal paving means no long-term protection
