Beach Health Indicators
Beach Fill
Many coastal experts believe the term "beach nourishment" is a misleading
term and that these projects should be called "beach dredge and fill projects" to
reveal their true impact on the beach. Surfrider has decided to use the term "beach
fill" in order to be consistent with commonly used terminology. State coastal
managers often use fill programs as a "soft" alternative to shoreline structures
in combating coastal erosion on developed stretches of coastline. Funding
for these projects may come from the federal, state, or local level with
varying amounts of participation. Unfortunately, many fill projects run over
budget and the lifespan of the project is underestimated.5 For those states
with available information, we provide fill locations and, when available,
the cost of these projects. This will enable local citizens to be aware of
fill projects on their beaches and how much it is costing them.
Some beach fill projects have resulted in negative impacts to fishing resources, surfing areas and swimmer safety. A source of information on these concerns is the website http://www.beachfill.org.
There is also an increasing awareness of the short term and long term ecological
consequences of beach fill projects. Short-term impacts may include such
things as interrupting sea turtle nesting activities. Repeated beach fill
projects may have cumulative biological impacts that are rarely included
in environmental assessments.6 Studies and monitoring programs on fill projects
are important and are included where found.
A common problem with beach fill projects is the lack of monitoring or lack of adequate monitoring for the environmental and ecological effects of the project. An excellent summary of the widespread lack of monitoring for these projects can be found at: http://www.surfrider.org/beachscape/docs/2005_Bioscience_Beach_nourishment_Peterson.pdf
NOAA also has some excellent resources on this subject, including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Compliance Requirements for Beach Nourishment Programs, which is part of http://www.csc.noaa.gov/beachnourishment/index.htm
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