It sure isn’t pretty, but state and county experts say the upland, mined sand being piled on Brevard’s Mid-Reach beaches by the dump-truck-load is appropriate for an emergency dune restoration project.
Local environmentalist Matt Fleming of Satellite Beach disagrees. Fleming founded the Facebook group Save The Mid-Reach, and is conducting independent research to determine if the sand is “too muddy” and therefore harmful to the stretch of beach known for its rare, near-shore reefs.
The emergency placement of sand from the Blue Goose sand mine in Vero Beach was called for by the county after an estimated 36,000 cubic yards of sand was eroded during Hurricane Irma along the Mid-Reach area, a 7.6-mile stretch extending from immediately south of Patrick Air Force Base to Flug Avenue in Indialantic.
The project, expected to be completed by the start of turtle nesting season in May, is being coordinated by the Brevard County Natural Resources Department and supported by the City of Satellite Beach.
Satellite Beach City Manager Courtney Barker addressed the potentially muddy issue in the upcoming city newsletter: “Initial quality control tests show the material meets project requirements and far exceeds the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) beach quality sand standards.’’
She noted that sand from the same source was successfully used for the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge last year and the Brevard section of the refuge had 25,553 sea turtle nests, including 15,828 endangered green sea turtle nests, setting an all-time record for green sea turtle nests in the refuge.
“Clearly, the project did not impact sea turtle nesting,’’ Barker wrote.
Brevard County beach management coordinator Mike McGarry explained that grain size specifications are set which limit how much sand can pass through various sizes of sieves. This keeps the sand from being too coarse or too fine. The most critical state standard is the one limiting “silt” or very fine sediment, or the material most inclined to muddy the water. The state requires that beach sand can have no more than 5 percent silt passing through a #230 sieve. The county tightens this requirement to less than 2.5 percent passing through a #200 sieve. Both the percentage and sieve size are more stringent than the state DEP requirement, he said.
“I am not certain of the definition of ‘dirt’ when used in this context, but I am inclined to believe it means silt which can cloud the water. The county has built similar dune projects with similar sand within the Mid Reach and South Beaches several times over the last 14 years and both turtle nesting and the health of nearshore rock reefs appear strong,” McGarry said.
Added DEP spokesperson Dee Ann Miller, “Beach-compatible fill is defined as material that maintains the general character and functionality of the material occurring on the beach and in the adjacent dune and coastal system.”
Sand sources must be approved by the DEP and “beach-sand products from the Blue Goose mine have previously been approved by the department for use on other beach projects,’’ she said.
The overall question for Fleming, a 21-year Brevard County resident who is heading up additional tests on the Blue Goose-mined sand, is not so much whether the sand is too dirty or not, but whether beach replenishment projects are better than letting natural systems determine the shoreline.
“There is not enough science on what the nature of this beach (because of rare near-shore reefs) or what the impact of this project is,’’ he said.
The choice is not between beach replenishment projects or sea walls, it’s between an altered or a natural shoreline, which he says could become an even bigger draw for tourists.
“That natural process creates a beach that’s unique and diverse in its ecology. There doesn’t have to be seawalls. This is not rage against the machine, this is a community effort” trying for the best environmental outcome for the Mid-reach beaches over the long run, he said.
