Brevard County Federal Shore Protection Project
Details:
Location: Brevard County, Natural Resources Mgt. Office
Client: Brevard County, Natural Resources Mgt. Office
Tasks: Feasibility Study for Beach Management Alternatives, Permitting, Local Sponsor Technical Representative, Construction Review, Assist w/ State grant cost-sharing, Coastal engineering design consultation
Description:
For this 40-mile coastline that includes Cocoa Beach and Melbourne Beach, Olsen Associates, Inc. (OAI) prepared the original, detailed feasibility studies for beach management alternatives in 1989. This work ultimately evolved into a federal shore protection project that includes beach nourishment along two sections of shoreline totaling 13.5 miles in length. The project was initially constructed in 2000-03 using 4 million cubic yards of sand dredged from offshore sand sources at a cost of $40M. Portions of the project have been renourished in 2005 and in 2010, also with offshore sand. OAI represents the interests of the Local Sponsor (Brevard County) in this federal project. The firm has developed and added two borrow areas to the project, introduced the use of nearshore sand (seabed) rehandling areas, pioneered “turtle friendly” profile design, and added other project modifications. These efforts directly reduced construction cost and time – and substantially improved the physical success of the project. OAI acquired all FDEP permits, assisted in easement acquisition, lease agreements with Minerals Management Service for federal offshore sand sources, prepared all work to establish the Erosion Control Line, and has performed all project monitoring. To enable prompt response after the 2004 hurricane season, OAI prepared the surveys, construction plans and specifications for the project’s renourishment – which were provided to the Corps of Engineers for turn-key implementation in Spring 2005. In 2009, the Corps of Engineers agreed that the cost of the northern 9.6-mile reach of the project shall be 100% federal, and that costs already expended by the non-federal sponsor shall be credited to the remainder of the project. This decision concluded decades of complex efforts by Olsen Associates, Inc., Brevard County, the Canaveral Port Authority, and others, to secure mitigation for the historic impact of a federal navigation project upon the Brevard County beaches.
