St. Lucie County approves emergency truck-haul sand to bolster Fort Pierce Beach

St. Lucie County's Erosion District voted Feb. 18 to authorize emergency placement of upland truck-hauled sand on Fort Pierce Beach after the county was unable to secure a dredging contract for a planned nourishment project.

The action, presented by Joshua Rebor, director of Port, Inland and Beaches for St. Lucie County, is intended to preserve the shoreline until a fully funded dredging contract can be awarded in the next procurement cycle. "We've asked the board to look at declaring an emergency associated with the Fort Pierce shore protection project," Rebor told the board. "As you know, there's much erosion." The board approved the measure by voice vote.

The emergency plan follows two unsuccessful procurements for a dredging contractor. Rebor said the county went out to bid twice but did not receive a viable contractor response amid a busy regional market of storm-related projects. "So we're gonna do a temporary measure," he said, explaining the county had prequalified sand through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and would use upland truck haul to place material on the beach. Rebor told commissioners the contractors had provided pre-construction information and the work was scheduled to begin March 3, with the county targeting roughly 95,000 cubic yards of sand; the final amount will depend on weather and ongoing erosion during operations.

Commissioner Jeremy Claspy, citing constituent calls, asked for an explanation of why the dredging procurement failed and what the temporary measure would involve. "Before we get there, as I've gotten lots of phone calls on this side. Just would like a quick explainer as to how we missed, the Army Corps of Engineers, bid and then also what we're doing moving forwards," Claspy said. Rebor answered that the Army Corps process is typically biannual for these projects and that heightened demand for dredging after recent storms made the market tight; the county will re-bid in summer for a Corps-led nourishment event.

Rebor said county staff will coordinate regulatory review with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the temporary truck-haul operation to ensure compliance. He described the truck-hauled work as a stopgap to "preserve the beach until the next opportunity next year." The county's goal is to place the qualified sand and hold the shoreline until the Corps contract can be executed.

The board's motion authorized county staff to proceed with the emergency placement and related contracting for upland truck haul, subject to required regulatory coordination. The motion passed on a voice vote. No dollar amount for the emergency measure was specified in the discussion at the meeting.

County staff said they will return to the procurement process this summer to secure a dredging contract for the fully funded project already on the books.

For now, the emergency truck-haul is intended as a temporary preservation step; the county will monitor beach conditions and adjust operations if additional erosion occurs before the scheduled summer procurement.