Let us buy sand from the Bahamas

Let’s say there are two scenarios for replenishing South Florida’s disappearing beach sand. The first involves hundreds of trucks hauling sand from a mine in Moore Haven, about 110 miles away. The second would ship the sand by sea from the Bahamas, less than half that distance.

You don’t need a study to tell you which is cheaper and more efficient.

Yet after several failed attempts to lift an antiquated federal prohibition on replenishing Florida beaches with foreign sand, the government is finally allowing a study to research the benefits.

While the study is a small step in the right direction – and should confirm there are no environmental concerns – the solution is obvious: give our communities the freedom to purchase quality sand from the lowest bidder.

As it stands, the Water Resources Development Act blocks federal money from being spent on foreign sand for beach projects if domestic sources are available. Local communities rely on federal dollars to help fund beach projects.

Federal law also prohibits foreign vessels from bringing sand here. The law is meant to protect American dredging companies, but it hurts taxpayers, since transferring sand from a foreign vessel to an American one would be a costly process.

The updated Water Resources Development Act, signed into law by President Obama last month, authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to study using foreign sand in beach restoration.

Broward County Natural Resources Administrator Nicole Sharp called the study “a step forward.” But Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, isn’t satisfied. She tried her best to get the ban on foreign sand eliminated, but was unsuccessful.

“I think it’s stupid,” Frankel said. “We don’t need a study. It’s ridiculous. What I would like to do is have my U.S. senators help get this done.”

Frankel is right. Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio should also be flexing their muscles to eliminate unnecessary regulations meant to protect special interests. Frankel says Nelson has been supportive but Rubio has been less helpful.

Congress should listen to the South Florida communities who have done their own studies and determined this is the best way to obtain sand for widening shorelines. The trucking and dredging lobbies, who Frankel blames for the continued prohibition, don't have taxpayers' interests in mind.

The Naples Daily News, which recently published an investigation on Florida’s sand problems, found the recent Fort Lauderdale beach renourishment project will end up costing $37 million to dump 750,000 cubic yards of sand on less than five miles of beach. That’s about $50 per cubic yard. In 2006, Broward spent less than $23 per cubic yard on a dredging project.

But Broward and Miami-Dade County can no longer dredge for sand because of a narrow continental shelf. The sand that remains is either too deep for most dredgers to reach or it’s in coral reefs that are environmentally protected. Palm Beach County still has dredging options.

Last year, state Sen. Joe Negron — now president of the Florida Senate — added a clause to the state budget that prohibits Miami-Dade from using state money to dredge for sand in his Treasure Coast district, which has plenty of available sand. Brian Flynn, Miami-Dade’s former beach manager, struck back telling the Daily News that the Treasure Coast’s sand isn’t up to South Florida’s quality. It’s too dark.

Sharp, of Broward, told us the Ortona sand mine in Moore Haven “has a very nice color” and there should be enough to last for 50-100 years. But she said shipping sand from the Bahamas would likely be cheaper. Broward has been researching Bahamian sand for more than a decade.

Because of the prohibition on buying Bahamian sand, there’s heavy demand for the Ortona sand, which means higher costs.

“If there’s a high demand on the (Ortana) sand mine, and a low demand on the Bahamian mine, it could be cost effective,” Sharp said.

Hauling sand by truck is ineffective and was used sparingly before Broward and Miami-Dade could no longer dredge. But Fort Lauderdale’s project is the largest truck-haul renourishment in Florida’s history.

There’s a large supply of Bahamian sand that’s much closer and more cost efficient. Congress should give South Florida beaches and taxpayers relief. Sens. Nelson and Rubio should lead the way.