Robin's Blog for Dauphin Island

Dauphin Island nixes berm plan; looks for bigger beach renourishment project

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said the town will continue to hunt for a long-term solution to the barrier island's erosion problems after the Town Council recently decided against building another sand berm on the west end.

The council unanimously voted last week against asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund a sand wall along the southern border of Bienville Boulevard.

The berm would have been intended to protect the road during storms, but also would have blocked houses and side streets on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island, limiting access to the west end's main road.

Dauphin Island, Ala., Mayor Jeff Collier: 'We just didn't feel like that was the best route to take for the island.'

"That type of structure brought more problems to the table than it offered solutions," Collier said. "We just didn't feel like that was the best route to take for the island."

Hurricane Gustav in September washed away a three-mile berm that was built for $3.6 million on the west end beach, south of the last line of Gulfside houses.

Now, town officials say they're continuing efforts to secure funding for larger-scale beach restoration -- including lobbying for Dauphin Island to be added to a barrier island rebuilding project in neighboring Mississippi.

Congress after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program, which calls for about $477 million to restore Ship, Horn and Petit Bois Islands using 22 million cubic yards of sand. Some of the sand would be dredged from sources in Alabama, according to the program report.

Although barrier islands naturally move and change shape, a recent U.S. Geological Survey report found that the Mississippi-Alabama chain of barrier islands, including Dauphin Island, is rapidly eroding due to sea level rise, more intense and frequent storms and a lack of sand supply from dredging of nearby ship channels. Sections of Dauphin Island's Gulf beach have lost hundreds of feet in recent decades.

Glen Coffee, a biologist who retired from the Corps of Engineers after more than 30 years, now volunteers on Dauphin Island organizing a letter-writing campaign and other efforts to get Dauphin Island added to the Mississippi plan.

Local and state leaders, including Gov. Bob Riley; island residents and conservation groups have written letters to Congress in support of including Dauphin Island in the rebuilding project, Coffee said.

Many are concerned about damages to the ecosystem, losses to Alabama's seafood industry and the coastal protection the island offers during storms, he said.

"Everybody that's supporting this has a different agenda and a different goal, but one thing they all have in common is they support the need to look at the damages affecting Dauphin Island," Coffee said. "Because those damages -- left unchecked -- will create larger problems for Alabama's Mississippi Sound."

After rejecting the building of a berm on the west end, the Town Council voted to move forward with the process of hiring a beach nourishment expert to guide the island, officials said.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, responded to Mayor Collier in a May 12 letter, saying that while he understands the frustration many Alabama residents have over Dauphin Island being excluded from the plan, Congress only authorized the Corps to look at Mississippi's coast.

"To date, no legislation seeking to expand the scope of this proposal or authorize a new study specific to Dauphin Island has been considered by the U.S. Senate," Shelby said in the letter. "However, please know that as this process moves forward, I will continue to work for a fair outcome for Dauphin Island and the people of Alabama."

Meanwhile, a nearly decade-old legal battle between the Dauphin Island Property Owners Association and the Corps of Engineers over west end erosion appears to be nearing an end.

The property owners filed the lawsuit in 2000, blaming west end erosion on the Corps' dredging practices in the Mobile Ship Channel.

According to a May 14 court filing, the federal government and the property owners "believe they are very close to finalizing a written agreement that will fully and finally settle this case."

No details about the settlement are included in the court filing. A beach renourishment project is a possible outcome of the case.