Note: Nathaniel Reed serves as a “Board Advisor” to The Guardians of Martin County 
The Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal to remove millions of cubic yards of Martin and St. Lucie counties’ offshore sand to nourish 13.1 miles of badly eroded beaches in Miami-Dade County is seriously flawed.
For instance, no one knows what the impacts of removing sand from so-called “borrow areas” will have on the stability of beaches. Tampering with the offshore sand deposits is risky business.
Over a number of years, the town of Jupiter Island has pumped sand ashore from a number of offshore borrow areas. Although difficult to prove, there have been consequences that indicate dredging millions of yards of sand from so called “borrow areas” may have an adverse impacts on the nearest beachfront.
Importantly, the size of the offshore sand is far smaller than “natural sand” that moves down our state’s shoreline. That sand is heavier and has a longer staying power. Thousands of cubic yards of this valuable sand is caught in the St. Lucie Inlet and needs to be pumped south along Jupiter Island’s beach.
Lightweight offshore sand will not survive a mild northeaster. Beaches that have been routinely nourished from offshore sand are high-cost and give the locals the sense of “doing good.” In fact, they have proved to be a colossal waste of money.
I do not understand a federal law that prevents the Army Corps from acquiring millions of cubic yards of white, heavy sand from the Bahamas government. It is sterile and has the possibility of rebuilding a beachfront that will last far longer than lightweight offshore sand.
I have waded for hours on the great white sand bank south of Cat Cay Yacht Club in the Bahamas, searching for bonefish and permit. They are not there. It is uninhabited. It is as sterile an area as I have ever visited.
Yes, this heavy sand may present a serious problem for nesting turtles, but the number of nesting turtles along the 13.1 miles of Miami’s beaches is negligible.
Federal laws impeding the acquisition and movement of heavy, pure white sand from the Bahamas banks should be repealed, or the Army Corps ought to admit there are no other sources of “heavy, high-quality sand to borrow” from the east coast of Florida.
The vast expense of the proposal should be an insult to Florida taxpayers. By admitting the truth that only lightweight sand exists off Martin County, the Army Corps should be free to negotiate with the Bahamian government for the acquisition of sufficient sand to rebuild Miami-Dade’s eroding beach front.
The 50-year horizon for sand need set by the Army Corps of Engineers falls well short of the perpetual long-term needs of the local communities. Through intensive coordination, debate and discussions, local coastal communities in Martin County have made great strides and have agreed to move toward a common goal of improved regional sand management.
The Corps of Engineers must be an integral part of a solution that extends as far into the future as possible, providing adequate technical, regulatory and financial support to the St. Lucie Inlet federal navigation project, as well as a regional sediment-management plan that does not include removal of sand from the local system for outside federal projects.
The actions proposed by the Army Corps for Miami-Dade County are in conflict with the local stakeholder interests and strategies, and the unintended consequence of setting such a precedent may lead to far greater pressure on all sand sources along the east coast of Florida.
All efforts of providing a wide, nicely sloping beach anywhere on the east coast of the United States may be a false hope as sea rise and changing weather patterns make the probability a dream.
Reality is often hard to accept, but borrowing lightweight sand from Martin and St. Lucie counties and moving it at vast expense without knowing the consequences to local beaches is the height of absurdity.
Nathaniel Reed, of Jupiter Island, is former undersecretary of the U.S. Interior Department and vice chairman of The Everglades Foundation.