Anna Paulina Luna continues fight with feds over Pinellas beach renourishment

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is again pushing the Army Corps of Engineers for faster action on beach renourishment in Pinellas County, according to a letter she sent Friday and obtained exclusively by the Tampa Bay Times.

Local officials’ long-fought battle over replenishing Pinellas shorelines reached a tipping point last year when the Corps decided it would require all beachfront residents whose property borders the Sand Key project to sign a “perpetual easement” agreement.

This would allow public access to parts of the residents’ land along the beach — a proposal that has divided community members. The Corps needs full participation to move forward with this project, previously slated for 2024.

Sand Key, which stretches 14 miles from Clearwater Pass to John’s Pass, is considered “critically eroded,” according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The conflict between the Corps and Pinellas beach communities previously was confined to Sand Key, but cities further south are now embroiled in the fight. Other eroding beaches in Treasure Island and Long Key now are also struggling to have their own projects greenlit by the Corps, according to one beach mayor.

“I’m not looking for any more excuses,” Luna wrote in a statement to the Times. “It’s time for action on this issue.”

In April, Luna and nine other local elected officials wrote a letter to the Corps asking 13 questions, ranging from why the federal department is requiring the easements to what they will do about endangered species threatened by beach erosion if the Sand Key project doesn’t move forward.

The Corps denied a waiver that would have allowed the project to proceed without the easement requirement, pushing local officials in Pinellas County to look for other options in May.

Last week’s letter from Luna asked the Corps to grant exceptions to the perpetual easements requirement.

In a statement to the Times on Tuesday, the Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville office said it is working with Pinellas County officials toward “a mutually acceptable resolution” that will clear the way for renourishment projects.

Treasure Island Mayor Tyler Payne said he did not join other local officials in signing Luna’s April letter, fearing it might jeopardize his city’s project with the Corps. But it didn’t matter. In June, Payne said the Corps notified him it would now require easements in order for Treasure Island beach replenishment to begin.

“They told us that just days before the project was supposed to go out to bid,” he said. “We’ve been doing this for a long time — many, many projects. They’ve never required these easements before.”

Payne said the Corps still hasn’t provided him with names of any properties that require an easement, which means the city is unable to take steps to move the project along.

“To this day, they have not given us a list of properties,” he said. “My hands are tied.”

Meanwhile, a 10-foot ledge, eaten away by beach erosion, runs along the sand dunes at Treasure Island’s Sunset Beach and threatens the foundations of waterfront homes, according to Luna’s letter.

“It’s getting incredibly frustrating and just horrible to have to deal with this right now because I don’t have an answer for our residents,” Payne said.

Florida’s beaches are home to 30 rare species of plants and animals and provide habitats for nesting sea turtles and migrating birds, according to the state environmental agency. Beach and dune structures also play a vital role in protection from storm surge.

“If Army Corps does nothing, our beaches will dissipate, and our homes will be susceptible to destruction,” Luna wrote in the letter.

Luna’s letter also expressed the urgency of the project — forecasters predict an above-average hurricane season this year.

“We are living with washed out beaches as we approach the most dangerous time of hurricane season,” she wrote.