County official outlines $75 million coastal renourishment plan, dredging to start this week

Volusia County Councilman Matt Reinhart briefed the Daytona Beach City Commission on April 16 about a county‑led coastal renourishment effort funded with state and other dollars after storm damage. Reinhart said the county has roughly $75 million in funding for renourishment, with an initial dredging phase expected to yield about 900,000 cubic yards of beach‑compatible sand and a second, larger phase that could produce 1.7 to 2.2 million cubic yards for placement along the shoreline.

Reinhart said the work is a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND). He described approvals obtained to pump beach‑compatible sand from Intracoastal‑waterway dredging onto shorelines that previously would have been disposed at depth offshore. To move sand from liquefied deposition points to vulnerable stretches, the county approved a competitive trucking contract; the local bidder Halifax Paving won the trucking work after the lowest bidder failed to complete required paperwork, Reinhart said. The commission was told the county approved $7.5 million from the renourishment funds to stage trucking and pipe placement for near‑shore work.

Environmental measures and timing

Reinhart described negotiations with state and federal wildlife regulators over sea‑turtle nesting protection. County staff secured permission to operate with a 20‑foot buffer around confirmed turtle nests; work would stop in buffer areas if nests are discovered, Reinhart said. He said pipes were being staged and dredging was scheduled to start the week of the meeting and continue through November, with stockpiling and trucking phased northward to address vulnerable reaches as the work progresses.

Planting and resilience

The county secured a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant — about $2.5 million as described to the commission — to buy native dune plants for restoration work and to support dune rebuilding. Reinhart said Halifax Paving will help rebuild dunes as part of the trucking operations to place and shape sand.

Local impacts and logistics

Commissioners and residents asked whether the work will deliver sand to Daytona Beach specifically and how the $7.5 million fits in the larger $75 million program. Reinhart said the combined dredging and shoal‑attack phases are intended to feed beaches northward, potentially as far as Ormond Beach depending on shoal locations and permitting. The $7.5 million is a portion of the total allocated to trucking, pipe staging and dune construction; the county will bring incremental approvals as the work continues.

Speakers and credits

- Matt Reinhart — Volusia County Councilman (presentation). - Halifax Paving — local contractor awarded trucking and dune‑work (contract referenced). - National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (grant referenced). - Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (nest protection/buffer coordination referenced). - Army Corps of Engineers and Florida Inland Navigation District — permitting and dredging partners.

Provenance

- topicintro: presentation introduction (item 6b). - topfinish: commission Q&A and closing remarks from Reinhart at the end of the presentation.