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Pinellas County approves $125 million beach renourishment contract, seeks temporary easements amid federal constraints
Summary
County commissioners approved a $125 million contract with Weeks Marine for shore renourishment and appropriated related funds, while staff warned that federal Corps easement rules limit eligibility for long-term federal cost share and will force patchwork construction where property owners withhold easements.
The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners on June 17 approved a $125 million contract to renourish multiple Gulf Coast beaches and appropriated additional funds to begin the work ahead of hurricane season.
County staff said the award to Weeks Marine and the earlier budget realignment together will allow county crews and contractors to begin construction segments as soon as permits and access agreements are in place. “This will do all of our areas that are scheduled for renourishment. A total of just over $125,000,000,” the county announced during the meeting.
The vote followed extended discussion about federal requirements that have blocked earlier Corps of Engineers projects: a 2017 interpretation requiring perpetual public-access easements for private properties and a rule that projects must have 100% of required easements for a segment to be eligible for federal work. County staff and commissioners said those requirements have left stretches of coastline ineligible for federal nourishment since 2018 and that the county will pursue a one-time, locally led nourishment while continuing to press for policy changes in Washington.
“This language hasn’t changed,” the board’s remarks noted, referring to the Corps’ easement and access language, and officials said that without federal change the county cannot rely on a recurring federal program. Commissioners framed the current project as a “one-time solution” to provide a level of protection before the prime hurricane season while they continue to seek a long-term federal fix.
Where property owners decline to sign easements, staff said the contractor will bypass or taper nourishment segments. Kelly, a county staff member responsible for project delivery, said Sand Key is short about 136 construction easements; Sunshine Beach lacks eight; and Upham Beach lacks three. In those places the county plans to build to the erosion-control line and place sand on the public beach west of that point, rather than up against private structures.
Commissioners emphasized outreach: the county will hold two in-person community meetings and one virtual briefing to explain construction timing, what the project will and will not do, and the limited, temporary nature of construction easements being requested.
Hospital officials who spoke during a related budget discussion also supported moving forward, saying the renourishment protects infrastructure and homes. County staff and commissioners urged owners who remain unsure to attend the meetings; staff said they will accept construction easements until the contractor passes a parcel on the work plan.
The board voted unanimously to appropriate the budget changes that free local funds for the work and later unanimously awarded the renourishment contract to Weeks Marine. Motion and second for the contract award were recorded in the meeting minutes as moved by Commissioner Peters and seconded by Commissioner Latvala.
The county also discussed — but did not resolve — whether funds previously provided to federal projects could be returned or repurposed; staff said they requested reimbursement for earlier contributions where federal processes precluded use. The Corps has signaled a two-year limited easement window in recent legislation, but county attorneys and staff said the implementing Corps guidance remains unclear and would still require 100% of required easements for a federal project to proceed.
The county characterized the local project as an immediate risk-reduction measure rather than a permanent fix, and indicated continued lobbying of the congressional delegation and Corps officials for policy changes that would allow a more sustainable, federally supported program in the future.
Ending: The county will hold public outreach meetings in the coming weeks and begin construction as permits and temporary construction easements are secured; commissioners and staff said they will continue to press federal officials to change long-term easement rules so future projects can access federal cost share.
