BOEMRE Authorizes Offshore Sand Resources for Florida Shoreline Restoration (USA)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) authorizing Miami-Dade County, Fla., to use up to 500,000 cubic yards of sand from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to restore 14 miles of shoreline eroded by storm waves and tides.

“The bureau’s Marine Minerals Program provides sand resources from the OCS that help remedy the effects of erosion and enhance the integrity of our nation’s shoreline,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “This MOA is an excellent example of federal agencies working with local communities to restore and preserve the coastal environment.”

The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) will dredge the sand from a site that lies more than 3 statute miles south of the Port of Miami entrance channel. The sand will then be hydraulically pumped onto the Miami-Dade County shoreline.

Planning for this project began in 2008 and BOEMRE (then the Minerals Management Service) cooperated with the ACE in the National Environmental Policy Act review process. The project is expected to begin in the fall of 2011.

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Source: BOEMRE, August 5, 2011