Pinellas County hosts final beach nourishment project meeting
Share this @internewscast.com

BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — There were tense moments at Wednesday night’s public meeting in Belleair Beach.

This was as Pinellas County leaders continued asking residents to sign temporary easements for the impending beach nourishment project.

Ed Qualls lives in Redington Shores and got one of the letters himself.

“I love renourishing the beach, I don’t have problems with the equipment on my beach. Heck, what they’re asking for, FEMA did all through storm recovery. I had the biggest machines in the world on my property, I didn’t care,” he said. “I was happy to see stuff back.”

“I’m good with everyone loving the beach and renourishing it,” Qualls continued.  

But he took issue with the wording in the paperwork the county is asking him to sign.

“They said it’s a temporary easement but the paperwork they sent me says it’s a perpetual easement,” he said. “So I wanted to get them to make it say temporary. I’m ready to sign.”

Pinellas County is using $125 million through the tourism development tax and state grants.

The rest of the funding is being reimbursed by the state.

The county is undertaking the enormous project, explaining it couldn’t strike a deal with the Army Corps of Engineers due to a new policy that mandates all residents along the beach consent to permanent easements.

The Army Corps of Engineers sent the following statement to 8 On Your Side:

“Federal shore protection projects are designed to absorb the brunt of hurricanes/tropical storms, thereby lessening damage and other consequences that would otherwise directly impact residents, infrastructure, and residential and commercial properties. To protect lives and ensure our national investment now and into the future here in Florida, Perpetual Easements are required on private lands necessary for full construction of the project in accordance with applicable laws. Just as a pot with holes in it does not hold water, Coastal Storm Risk Management projects are the same – They can fail to provide their designed protection if they have gaps in their construction. The project function, which provides erosion and storm surge risk management to landward facilities through the sacrifice of project fill material, depends on maintaining the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the project design. Permanent easements manage uncertainty because they ensure access along the entire project length for initial construction, continued nourishments, operations and maintenance, and hurricane and storm event responses to maintain maximum benefits.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Hegseth Reports on Recent Boat Strike Near Venezuela Linked to Drug Trafficking

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that he had…

Illinois Basketball Hosts 2025 Media Day Event

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Illinois men’s and women’s basketball hosted its annual…

Massive Seizure: 1 Million Fentanyl Pills Confiscated at Single Port of Entry in Just One Month

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Over a period of 30 days…

Attorney States Lack of Evidence in Celeste Case, Even with D4vd Connection

A leading defense attorney believes there is currently no evidence to suggest…

Why Democrats Remain Firm Amid Government Shutdown

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site…

Taylor Swift is Thrilled About Her Upcoming Album

Internet Explorer 11 is not supported. For the best experience, please visit…

Europe Considers Advanced ‘Drone Wall’ to Counter Russian Threats

With that in mind, some European officials have already poured cold water…

Huge Blaze Breaks Out at Chevron Refinery Near Los Angeles

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (NEXSTAR) — A fire erupted at a Chevron oil…

Diddy to Receive Sentence on Friday for Charges Related to Prostitution

Sean “Diddy” Combs will be sentenced by a federal judge on Friday,…

Thune Criticizes Government Shutdown, Says Discussions with Schumer Unlikely to Yield Results

WASHINGTON — On the second day of the government shutdown, Senate Majority…

Local Family-Owned Boating Company Competes to Run Cross Bay Ferry Service

The Cross Bay Ferry’s revival might be spearheaded by a local, family-run…

Trump’s Visible ‘Militarization’ Efforts in Chicago March On

CHICAGO () For weeks, Operation Midway Blitz has been in progress throughout…