As part of President Obama’s continuing commitment to help protect and restore coastal areas, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, and the City of Folly Beach, South Carolina, for the noncompetitive use of Outer Continental Shelf sand.
The project will restore sand lost to erosion within the federally authorized shore protection project at Folly Beach. The erosion is the result of storm waves and tides, largely from Hurricanes Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012.
The project will excavate up to 850,000 cubic yards of sand from two areas located in federal waters approximately 3.7 mi and 4.1 mi, respectively, offshore of Charleston County, SC, for placement along approximately five miles of Atlantic shoreline.
Dredging operations using sand sources in South Carolina state waters have already begun and operations to move sand in federal water are expected to begin shortly. The Charleston District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers anticipates the project will take from two to three months to complete.
BOEM manages non-energy minerals and sediment obtained from the ocean floor, including OCS sand used for coastal restoration and protection. BOEM has the authority to convey, on a noncompetitive basis, the rights to OCS sand, gravel, or shell resources for shore protection; beach or wetlands restoration projects; or use in construction projects funded in whole or part or authorized by the federal government.
In cooperation with other federal agencies, BOEM conducts extensive technical and environmental reviews of projects so that any potential adverse impacts on the marine, coastal, and human environments are avoided or minimized.
BOEM has already conveyed the rights to about 77 million cubic yards of OCS sand for 42 coastal restoration projects in six states. These projects have resulted in the restoration of more than 230 miles of the nation’s coastline, protecting billions of dollars of infrastructure as well as important ecological habitat.
Press Release, April 11, 2014