{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://crist.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2213", "Crist Fights to Save Pinellas Shore Protection Project", "2020-12-02", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Charlie Crist", "C001111", "crist.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) sent alettercalling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work with Pinellas County as the future of the County's Shore Protection Project hangs in the balance.\r\nSpecifically, Congressman Crist is asking the Army Corps to provide flexibility to Pinellas County and maintain their commitment to work hand-in-hand with the County to replenish and preserve our coast.\r\nCrist's letter comes as the Pinellas County Shore Protection Project, which serves to periodically renourish nearly 13 miles of Pinellas beaches, hit a major roadblock after the County was told by the Army Corps that they only have until the end of the year to secure hundreds of easements from property owners in order to continue the project. The original deadline was set for spring of 2021.\r\nIn his letter, Congressman Crist urges the Corps to meet the County halfway and provide flexibility by not requiring easements for areas where sand will not be placed.\r\nBetween the outbreak of COVID-19 and Tropical Storm Eta, this has been a trying year for the people and businesses that call Pinellas home,said Congressman Crist.The County's Shore Protection Project will not only safeguard our beaches, local environment, and economy  but our way of life. The future of our coastal communities is on the line. We must work together to find a common sense solution that will allow us to see this project through for the well-being of our beaches and Pinellas families and businesses. A pdf of the letter can be foundhere, with text appearing below.  \r\n\r\nDecember 1, 2020\r\n\r\nThe Honorable Rickey R.D. James  \r\nAssistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works  \r\nU.S. Army Corps of Engineers  \r\n108 Army Pentagon  \r\nWashington, DC 20310\r\nDear Assistant Secretary James,\r\nI write today to bring your attention to an urgent issue in my district. As you know, Pinellas County is home to a large shore protection project that encompasses nearly 13 miles of beaches over three segments and has been a model partnership between the federal, state, and local governments. This public safety project is vital to our economy, environment, and way of life. Our beaches support a thriving tourism industry; promote recreational opportunities; and protect lives, endangered local wildlife, and infrastructure from devastating storm surge. It is imperative that the Pinellas County Shore Protection Project remain on schedule for years to come.\r\nDespite completing multiple nourishment cycles over several decades, the Army Corps informed Pinellas County that local officials must obtain perpetual easements along the length of the project from 100 percent of property owners in order to be eligible for Sand Key's next nourishment in 2024. Together with the Corps' Jacksonville District, the County and local municipalities have been working hard for over two years to obtain these easements. Unfortunately, due to understandable skepticism from some property owners, the County remains more than 270 easements short of meeting the requirement. Notably, a majority of the remaining required easements are located well into the sand dunes and would not receive any sand in the planned project (see Attachment A).\r\nThe Corps had initially given the County until the spring of 2021 to acquire the remaining easements. However, the County shared with my office that they were recently informed by the Corps that the deadline has been moved up to the end of this calendar year. While this shortened timeframe is concerning on its own, the ongoing public health emergency makes it even more difficult for the County to conduct outreach and engage with property owners.\r\nThis situation has been further exacerbated by Tropical Storm Eta, which made landfall just north of Tampa Bay on November 12th. Early reports from the County indicate that the beach project suffered considerable damage, resulting in a loss of over 370,000 cubic yards of sand from the storm and may need emergency repairs. Unfortunately, without the required easements, those repairs would also be in jeopardy, making an already dire situation even worse.\r\nDegradation of our beaches would severely impact our tourism-based economy, and the lack of a protective beach will cause even greater damage to local infrastructure when a storm occurs. This would lead to increased disaster recovery costs for everyone involved  directly contradicting the very purpose of the program. Most alarming, however, is the threat to human life and safety that a malnourished beach poses.\r\nIt is unacceptable that the Pinellas County Shore Protection Project be abandoned due to a sudden change in Corps policy, especially after completing multiple successful nourishment cycles prior to instatement of the easement requirement. For this reason, I urge the Corps to provide flexibility to Pinellas County and not require easements for areas where sand will not be placed in the planned project, or has not been placed since 1996, the year the Corps released guidance on WDRA 1986. These modifications would greatly assist in ensuring this critical project continues uninterrupted and allows for any emergency replenishments that may be required prior to the next scheduled project.\r\nFor your awareness, my office has also reached out directly to your staff to arrange a virtual meeting between the appropriate officials at Corps Headquarters, the County, and me to discuss this issue. I request that you also attend this meeting.\r\nThank you for your attention to this matter. Given the seriousness of the situation, I ask for your reply by December 8, 2020.\r\nSincerely,\r\nCharlie Crist  \r\nUNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN\r\nCC: Colonel Andrew Kelly, Commander and District Engineer, Jacksonville District  \r\n    Collin Ries, Coastal Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://crist.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2213"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9625530801713467, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}