A $130-million federal plan will repair hurricane damage to seven beach areas critical to the state's tourism industry.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published October 9, 2004
ST. PETE BEACH - Gov. Jeb Bush on Friday announced a $130-million federal plan to replenish Florida beaches battered by hurricanes, almost 10 times what the U.S. government spent last year on beach renourishment.
The plan will target seven areas around the state, including Pinellas County's 35 miles of beaches. Bush said the renourishment is essential to reinvigorating the state's tourism industry, which was hit hard by the recent hurricanes.
"For the next few months, what you'll see is the recovery efforts continue," Bush said at a press conference outside the Don CeSar Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach. "We'll focus on housing, we'll focus on the insurance issues, we'll have a special legislative session in December, but we're also going to work hard to promote the state."
Four hurricanes hammered the state's beaches over the span of six weeks, washing away tons of sand and leaving the shorelines on both coasts flat and uninviting.
The renourishment program comes from $362-million in emergency aid for activities by the Army Corps of Engineers. President Bush on Thursday requested the money from Congress, which was scheduled to vote on it by this weekend. An additional $56-million from the proposal will be used to dredge Florida harbors, including the Tampa's.
The federal government spent $13.7-million on beach renourishment in Florida last year, said Howard Marlowe, a lobbyist who represents coastal towns around the country.
The state Department of Environmental Protection originally allotted $25-million for renourishment this year.
Carole Ketterhagen, executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, said tourism has suffered since the storms, largely because people aren't sure which areas are free from damage.
A recent survey by National Travel Monitor, a monthly survey of traveler's attitudes, found that 34 percent of visitors thought Pinellas County was severely affected by the recent storms, Ketterhagen said.
"We're concerned though that there may be potential visitors out there that think Florida isn't open for business," she said. "We want them to know we are here."
Other areas receiving the federal beach renourishment money include shorelines in Brevard, Duval, Martin, St. Johns and Sarasota counties as well as Fort Pierce Beach. Officials are still evaluating which sections will be renourished with federal dollars.
And 13 more beaches are still being assessed by the corps.
President Bush has not typically been a supporter of beach renourishment and has tried several times to slash funding for Florida's beaches. But U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, the Largo Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, has been vigilant in restoring the money.
Gov. Bush and Jim Connaughton, senior environmental adviser to President Bush, credited Young with helping secure money for the latest renourishment project.
Connaughton, who was also at Friday's press conference, said replenishing the beaches will send a strong message of recovery, both to state residents and potential tourists.
No time frame has been established for completion of the project, but Connaughton said renourishment already has started in areas such as Treasure Island. He said the Corps of Engineers is poised to begin as soon as possible.
"Florida's beautiful beaches are an important symbol of the state's vitality," Connaughton said. "It's important to get them back, because that brings the tourists back."
