Ala.'s Dauphin Island considers erosion control

By GARRY MITCHELL - Associated Press Writer

MOBILE, Ala. -- A FEMA official said Thursday that Dauphin Island could seek federal funds for a sand berm to replace the $3.6 million one washed away by Hurricane Gustav, but there's been no decision on its design or cost.

FEMA will meet Friday with island officials in a planning session.

The 10-foot-high berm ran along three miles of Gulf beachfront on the island's west end and protected scores of resort homes, now left vulnerable to the Gulf surf. It was built in 2005 to replace a $1 million berm that was washed away by Tropical Storm Isidore in 2002. That 14,000-foot berm had been built as an emergency project initiated after Hurricane Georges in 1998.

Mike Moore, FEMA's disaster coordinator for Alabama, said the agency is in the process of approving some funds for storm repairs to the island, including about $3.6 million to remove and recover sand from the public right of way. Gustav covered the west end's roads with several feet of sand.

But Moore stressed that the sand removal cost does not cover an "emergency berm," and it's only a coincidence that the sand disposal cost - $3.6 million- equals that of the washed-away berm.

He said island officials have until Nov. 6 to apply for Gustav funds, and Nov. 23 to file for Hurricane Ike losses. It's a 75-25 cost-sharing formula, with the federal government paying the higher share.

Erosion claims up to 10 feet per year in some areas of the island's shoreline.

Island officials on Thursday were focused on erosion solutions for the more populated and forested east end, which receives less damage from storms.

An engineering firm, WRScompass, estimates that approximately 10,200 feet of beach on the east end would require nourishment as part of restoration activities, costing between $11.5 million and $12.8 million.

Mayor Jeff Collier said the island would need local, state, and federal funding for such a project.

Posted by Robin Linn on October 23rd, 2008 3:06 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Monthly Message from Bill Harper - DIPOA Board President

October 20th, 2008 1:56 PM

Message From Bill Harper

October 17, 2008

Dear friends,

I am always glad when October arrives for it brings some of the best weather of the year, plus the threat of storms greatly diminishes. But, we are still dealing with the aftermath of our back to back storms that traveled through our area in September, especially on the western end of the island.

There is good news from Mayor Jeff Collier. The Town has been successful in getting approval from FEMA and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency to return screened sand from the roads and right of way back to the shoreline on and through private property. As Jeff said, "common sense has prevailed". This action will hasten the return of vital services to approximately 200 houses on the far West End. For affected members, make sure you have signed a right-of-entry to your property so the contractors can move sand on and through your property.

Despite the slowest season of the year, DIPOA finances continue to be strong. Thanks to higher gas royalty payments and continued memberships dues coming in, we took in more than we paid out in September. I was pleasantly surprised for the golf course was pretty much out of action for half of the month, especially the Labor Day weekend. We have $1,007,156.86 banked, $304.00 more than last month, which was a record. My thanks to all our members who have sent in their dues. We are well ahead of last year and need only 200 more members paying dues to reach our goal of $120,000 this fiscal year. We will have one more mailing of dues notifications going out soon.

With the cooler weather coming we have plans to complete painting the Club building and to pave the main road and parking lot, plus some trails too. We are in need of volunteers to help with some of the painting work, starting in November. Contact our office at 251-861-2433 or email your interest to dipoa@skyynett.com . We will call you when a work-party day is planned.

On the legal front we expect a hearing at the Court of Federal Claims on the DIPOA/Corps of Engineers settlement probably in November, maybe December. In light of the Expert's Report, we are not optimistic that the judge will rule that we are due some relief due to the Corps dredging practices.

The West Surf Beach lawsuit trial date is set for December 15. In late September, and with Gustav and Ike leveling the berm on the beachfront, and with many houses on the West End standing in water pools, we approached the plaintiffs in this case asking them to drop the lawsuit or at least talk about a settlement, all for the good of the Island. They were not receptive, making the usual claim that the beach is building back; the usual assertion that DIPOA property should never be given away; and averring again that an engineered beach is obtainable without giving DIPOA property to the Town. They did say they would discuss a dismissal if we could guarantee funding would be available if DIPOA beach was given to the Town. Again, a handful of individuals have succeeded in blocking our effort to solve the problem of erosion eating into our south-side coastline.

As a side note to this issue, Jeff Collier and I met with Congressman Jo Bonner this past week to request his support for the appropriation for an engineering study of the East End now in a Senate version of Department of Commerce's 2008/09 budget appropriation. He said he would support it, if it goes to conference with the House, but warned that things are very complicated in Washington now. When told of the reluctance of the plaintiffs to dismiss the lawsuit unless there is a guarantee, he said, and I quote, "I cannot guarantee funding if the lawsuit is won, dropped, or settled, but I can guarantee that no public funding will be available unless there is reasonable public access on the West End."

At our last board meeting we discussed the need to restructure office space. With the golf course getting busier each year operating the course and DIPOA office out of the same location is getting more complicated. After the first of the new year, we are planning to reopen the POA office in the small annex attached to the Clubhouse building. It will be staffed a number of hours a day, and maybe four days a week to handle non-golf related DIPOA business. This will facilitate serving the other interests of our organization, including the architectural committee and membership outreach. It will involve increasing our staff one half-time equivalent.

Our next board meeting will be Saturday, November 8, 2008, at 10:AM in the Isle Dauphine Club, lower level.

If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to contact us. 251-861-2433 or dipoa@skyynett.com .

Best regards,

William (Bill) Harper

Posted by Robin Linn on October 20th, 2008 1:56 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Mobile Press-Register Editorial - September 30, 2008

October 1st, 2008 8:47 AM

Build beaches, not berms

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

DAUPHIN ISLAND wasn't the only piece of the Alabama coast hit by the storm surges of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Even though neither storm made landfall anywhere near Alabama, our beaches have suffered.

In Baldwin County, officials are looking at estimates of more than $13 million to restore the beaches and a berm. About 2 million cubic yards of sand was lost, and the protective berm along West Beach was breached.

The fragility of the beaches was demonstrated by these two storms. Hurricane Ike's effects were worsened because between Gustav and Ike, normal wave action didn't have time to restore the sand that washed off the beach. So while the berm stood up fairly well to Gustav, Ike's storm surge was too much.

Overall, the Gulf Shores berm, built in 2005, appears to have performed better than its Dauphin Island counterpart, which was wiped out. But Baldwin County's experience offers further proof that beach berms — essentially walls built of sand — aren't worth the money taxpayers shell out for them.

Because Alabama's beaches are so crucial to the economy, they can't be left to erode away either. Beach renourishment programs are essential. Despite the damage in Baldwin County, the coastline is still in better shape because of the overall renourishment project, costing $25 million, in 2005.

In contrast, homes on Dauphin Island's west end are in grave danger. A wider beach renourishment program could better protect the island as a whole rather than repeatedly spending millions of dollars building a wall of sand that just won't hold up for long.

Posted by Robin Linn on October 1st, 2008 8:47 AMPost a Comment (0)

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