Notes from Big-Pass/Lido-Key Dredging/Renourishment meeting

It was a full house at City Hall on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 14.  Representatives from the Army Corps presented their updated project plans for widening the central and southern portions of Lido Beach with sand from Big Pass over the next 50 years.  Siesta Key residents in attendance voiced their concerns/objections to the plan.  Those from South Lido congratulated the Army Corps on doing a fine job.  Environmentalists voiced a desire to slow down in order to consider impacts to wildlife, impacts of sea-level rise, and the need to take a systems view of our passes and waterways.

Recent erosion on Lido Beach

Given the significant erosion of the Lido Shores beach area that coincided with the recent dredging just south of New Pass, many Lido Shores neighbors have expressed concern over the potential adverse impacts of dredging. So, it was no surprise to see quite a few Lido Shores neighbors at the first of two Army Corps presentations.  Anne Essner, Lisa Kates, Richard LaBrie, Phil Fuoco, Carol Fuoco, Diane Desenberg, and Tom Mawn attended.
During the Army Corps presentation, the project manager stated that if there were any adverse impacts resulting from the project, the Army Corps would be on the hook for remedying the situation.  No details were given as to who determines an adverse impact, how it might be measured, or what sorts of remedies were on the table (do we even know how to restore underwater wildlife?).  But it did get me to thinking about dredging in New Pass.  FEMA oversaw last month's dredging.  Is FEMA, like the Army Corps, responsible for measuring adverse impacts and remedying them?

The Army Corps recently released some major modifications to the project.  One major change was to remove the third groin just off Ted Sperling Park at the South end of Lido Key.  Their reasoning was that there was already a lot of sand there, so they didn't need the third groin; two would do. Perhaps. I have some totally unsubstantiated thoughts on this. As I understand it, the third groin - the groin that was removed - was on Sarasota County property and the Sarasota County Commission had voted to conduct an independent review of the project. Since the remaining two groins are not on Sarasota County property, this probably gives Sarasota County less standing to give feedback. The Army Corps also went out of their way to say that there are no other suitable sources of sand other than Big Pass.  On its surface and without checking into the details, this seems to be an absurd statement, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just dredged New Pass for sand for just this purpose.  In any event, none of the changes have placated Siesta Key residents who have formed a group called Save our Siesta Sand 2 (SOSS2).  SOSS2 has begun raising funds to hire their own geological expert and they may fight this project in court.

Lido Key, its passes and surroundings

Before the presentation, I was under the mistaken impression that some of the sand for this project would come from New Pass, but as it turns out, there are two separate projects. The project discussed at this meeting would dredge Big Pass, and a separate project would dredge New Pass, but both projects would renourish the same sections of beach. Evidently, lots of sand removal is planned in the vicinity of Lido Shores, but no renourishment is planned for the area. Is this a potential problem for our Lido Shores beach? Additionally, we now have two projects in the works to renourish the same area of beach. Is there a need to look at the larger region to see the total impact of these projects, as Justin Bloom of Suncoast Waterkeeper suggested at the meeting.

This meeting led me to take a look at the reasons behind the dredging of New Pass, and how they might have changed over time. The first few decades of dredging was conducted by the Army Corps as part of projects to keep New Pass a navigable boating channel.  The Congressional funding for those projects has run out.  The most recent dredging was funded by FEMA in response to the erosion caused by Tropical Storm Debbie.

In an effort to track down who is planning future dredging projects in New Pass and toward what end, I spoke with City of Sarasota Engineer, Alex Davis-Shaw. Ms Shaw indicates that the future dredging projects of New Pass and Big Pass are proactive attempts by the City of Sarasota and the Army Corps to widen the Central and South beach of Lido Key. The permitting process is underway for the next dredging of New Pass, which will be undertaken to renourish portions of beach on Longboat Key. The Town of Longboat Key is the lead agency on this project. However, the permit they are seeking would cover a subsequent dredging project, to be led by the City of Sarasota to widen the beach along the South and Central portions of Lido Key. Given the nature of government bureaucracy, there are a number of other players involved including the Army Corps and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. I will continue posting on this topic as I learn more.

The City of Sarasota website contains links to documentation for planned Lido Key dredging/renourishment efforts.
~ Diane Desenberg