Contact: Marjorie.Weisskohl@BOEM.Gov
703-787-1304
Nesting beach habitat for
loggerhead sea turtles will
be restored with the
Collier County project.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Collier County, Fla., have signed an agreement for the use of up to 500,000 cubic yards of sand from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to renourish four segments of shoreline near Naples, Florida. Sand for the restoration projects will assist Collier County Parks and Recreation Department in reducing coastal storm flooding and erosion and provide recreational and environmental habitat benefits along the county’s shoreline.
The project, totaling 7.5 miles, will take place between Wiggins Pass and Gordon Pass, including Vanderbilt Beach, Pelican Bay, Park Shore and Naples Beach. Construction is expected to begin in 2016. When completed, the communities will be better prepared to address the impacts from future storms on the county’s limited coastal sand resources.
“Under this agreement, BOEM is continuing its commitment to work with Florida’s coastal communities to enhance resilience efforts for the future,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “We are committed to continuing our collaborative efforts to help local communities withstand damage from future storms and address the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels, which challenge coastal areas.”
The project will raise eroded beach berm elevations to those consistent with natural berm elevation and increase the distance between the beach and coastal development. This action will reduce coastal storm-related flooding and erosion, provide a more reliable recreational beach area, and restore and maintain habitat for threatened and endangered sea turtle and shorebird species.
BOEM has the authority to convey, on a noncompetitive basis, the rights to resources for shore protection, beach or wetland restoration projects, or for use in construction projects funded in whole or part, or authorized by the federal government. In exercising this authority, BOEM may issue a negotiated non-competitive lease agreement for the use of OCS sand to a qualifying entity.
Over the past 20 years, BOEM has invested more than $40 million to identify non-energy resources on the OCS, conduct world-class scientific research, and lease OCS resources to coastal communities in need. Information from environmental research and resource identification has aided in making informed environmental assessment and leasing decisions concerning the use of OCS sand resources in beach nourishment and coastal restoration. For more information on BOEM's Marine Minerals Program, visit: http://www.boem.gov/Marine-Minerals-Program/, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
BOEM promotes energy independence, environmental protection and economic development through responsible, science-based management of offshore conventional and renewable energy and marine mineral resources.
- BOEM -