Beach Erosion Problems

By: Amy Morris

Updated: Fri 7:16 PM, Sep 17, 2004

Bay County officials say area beaches lost about four feet of sand due to Ivan's storm surge. The Tourism Development Council has about $9 million left in the kitty for beach renourishment.

The TDC started the $25 million project shortly after Opal. Since then they've done spot repairs like earlier this year from St. Andrew State Park to the Spyglass area, but state Rep. Allen Bense says the project saved a lot of beach front property from Ivan's wrath.

"The beach was sacrificed, but homes and buildings were not. I've had a lot of people call me who didn't support the renourishment project and say, ‘you know, you may have been right.’"

Bense spearheaded the renourishment project after Opal when he was head of the TDC.

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