Volusia County coastal director outlines $82 million recovery plan, prioritizes Daytona Beach for sand projects
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Summary
Volusia County coastal director Jessica Fentress told the Daytona Beach City Commission the county lost more than 6 million cubic yards of beach-quality sand in 2022 storms and has an $82 million FDEP grant for recovery; she described a shoals-to-shore project that identified about 1.75 million cubic yards of sand and urged countywide prioritization based on risk scores.
Volusia County’s coastal director told the Daytona Beach City Commission on Feb. 18 that countywide hurricane damage and a state grant create a time-limited opportunity to rebuild beaches that underpin the local economy.
Jessica Fentress said the 2022 hurricane season removed “over 6,000,000 cubic yards of beach compatible sand” from Volusia’s shoreline and that the county received an $82,000,000 grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for hurricane recovery. She described a North Beach placement project done with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and said the county is now conducting feasibility work and community outreach to prioritize where limited funds should be spent.
Fentress said initial investigations for an Inlet Shoals-to-Shore project show roughly 1,750,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand in inlet shoals that originated from north beaches, and she estimated that sand could be placed on Daytona-area beaches as early as early 2027. “We found 1,750,000 cubic yards of sand in these shoals,” she told commissioners, adding the material could be used from Sunglow Pier up to Granada and leave enough sand for a northern project.
She described the county’s parcel-level risk assessment — which ranks shoreline encroachment, infrastructure elevation, historical erosion and storm probability — as the method to decide which sections of the 47-mile coastline are highest priority for funding. Fentress said Daytona Beach ranks among the highest-risk communities countywide, which would make it a priority if the commission and county pursue sand placement.
Fentress walked through other shoreline-protection options (revetments, groins, nearshore sand placement, beach nourishment and structural relocation), cautioned that state statute and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) limit grant eligibility to sand options (chapter 161), and noted federal permitting timelines for projects that extend into state and federal waters. “The Florida State Department of Environmental Protection is the regulatory authority over your beach,” she said.
She also flagged the economic rationale for investment: the county’s economic-impact analysis cited about 61,000,000 day trips to Volusia beaches annually and estimated roughly $4.3 billion in annual county GDP tied to beach tourism, numbers she said support a countywide approach to protection and recovery.
Fentress said she will present the feasibility assessment to an elected roundtable in May and to the Volusia County Council this summer and offered to provide Daytona Beach with a draft resolution of support for the beach management plan. Commissioners commended the presentation and asked staff to consider the draft resolution and opportunities for local collaboration.
The county contact indicated follow-up outreach and additional technical briefings would be available to commissioners and the public as permitting and the feasibility study advance.
