Comment period open for Turtle Beach Renourishment Supplemental Environmental Assessment

In 2016, Sarasota County completed a beach restoration project at South Siesta Key Beach. Hurricane Hermine impacted the project shortly after completion, causing some of the new sand to be lost. Because of the high cost to bring a dredge back to Sarasota for a relatively small project, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) agreed to defer financial reimbursement until the next planned full beach restoration project. More recently, the agencies recommended constructing a smaller-scale project by bringing sand in dump trucks from an upland sand mine. This requires a Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA).

The SEA is currently open for a 30-day public comment period. Anyone wishing to provide comments may do so by submitting them in writing to the FEMA, Region 4, 3005 Chamblee-Tucker Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, or by emailing FEMA- R4EHP-FLORIDA@fema.dhs.gov.

View the SEA for the South Siesta Key (Turtle Beach) Beach Renourishment Project here.