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.
