Grand Strand Officials Travel to Washington to Discuss Future of Grand Strand's Federal Beach Renourishment Program

North Myrtle Beach, Horry County and Myrtle Beach Officials Travel to Washington to Discuss Future of Grand Strand's Federal Beach Renourishment Program

Left to Right: Steve Gosnell, Marilyn Hatley,
Johnny Gardner, Jackie Hatley and Mike Mahaney.

On October 3 in Washington, North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley, Horry County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner, Myrtle Beach Councilwoman Jackie Hatley, Horry County Administrator Steve Gosnell and North Myrtle Beach City Manager Mike Mahaney met with officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Tim Scott and Congressman Tom Rice. The officials requested a reevaluation of the Myrtle Beach Shore Protection Project, the formal name for the Grand Strand’s continuing federal beach renourishment project.

The Myrtle Beach Shore Protection Project was authorized for construction by Section 101 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1990, with federal participation in periodic beach nourishment authorized until 2046. The project covers three reaches: Reach 1 (North Myrtle Beach), Reach 2 (Myrtle Beach), and Reach 3 (Surfside Beach/Garden City). This project provides for periodic beach renourishment to provide shore protection to the Grand Strand, one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations (17.9 million visitors annually).

Storm Damages: The Myrtle Beach Shore Protection Project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was damaged repeatedly through erosion and rainfall in recent years by Hurricanes Joaquin (2015), Matthew (2016), Irma (2017), Florence and Michael (2018), and Hurricane Dorian (2019). Joaquin’s damage to the sand that provides protection to people, buildings and public infrastructure was severe. Within a year, Matthew’s damage exacerbated Joaquin’s damage. As repairs from Joaquin and Matthew were underway, Irma caused the loss of 1.4 million cubic yards of sand. The Corps returned post-storm to bring the beaches back to their design template. Hurricanes Florence and Michael caused severe erosion, replaced in 2019 by Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies funds appropriated in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. Only a few months after repair, Hurricane Dorian damaged the beaches.

Request for Federal Assistance: The original project specifications may no longer provide an adequate level of protection for the Grand Strand’s beaches. Horry County and the Cities that make up the Grand Strand Coastal Alliance submitted letters to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting an increase of the Corps General Investigations account to provide enough funding to conduct a General Revaluation Report (GRR) for the project. If the request is granted, the process would involve:

1. Conducting an evaluation of the existing design of the project, including its dunes and berm, to determine if any components of the project's design need to be modified to better provide resilience to the impact of waves on structures, infrastructure and life and safety. We asked that the evaluation be as broad as possible and that it include all potential measures from hard structures, beach nourishment and environmental restoration that are allowed under law and can be justified under Corps policies.

2. Reviewing erosive hot spots that occurred post construction at one or more points of the 26 miles of the project's shoreline to determine if the project design should be modified in any way.

3. Evaluating the eligibility of the Arcadian Shores section of the project for inclusion of the authorized project either as a separate reach or attached to one or more of the existing reaches of the project due to the developments that have occurred in recent years.

4. Reevaluating the appropriate berm height for the project given the concerns of sea level rise and intensifying storms. Originally, the Corps recommended a 9 foot height but Horry County asked that the berms be constructed to a lower height in Reach 3 of the project. Given the increase in property at risk, the Alliance has asked that the reevaluation occur as part of the requested project reformulation or, if possible, in a more expeditious manner.

5. Determining whether the remaining portion of the developed shoreline in Georgetown County up to Murrells Inlet can be included in the authorized project.