U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Public Affairs
NEWS RELEASE
MMS PROVIDES OCS SAND TO AIR FORCE BASE IN FLORIDA
The Minerals Management Service is providing sand from the federal outer continental shelf to Patrick Air Force Base, Fl., for a shoreline protection project. The base will use the sand to restore and protect their beaches from storm surges, high waves and erosion.
"In keeping with our overall stewardship responsibilities and our obligation to the environment, the MMS is pleased to work closely with the base to help protect their shoreline," said Carolita Kallaur, MMS Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management.
The potential for using federal sand resources as a source of material for beach and barrier islands restoration has grown rapidly in the last several years. The MMS has the responsibility for administering the Department of the Interior’s role in activities associated with the use of federal sand sources for beach restoration projects.
"This project will be the largest beach nourishment effort to date for Patrick Air Force Base and our first attempt at pumping sand onto the beach instead of hauling it by truck," said Thomas Russell, base civil engineer. By using dredging equipment already in place for a project in Brevard county, the base was able to reduce the overall cost of moving 600,000 cubic yards of sand for the project.
This beach nourishment project is a continuation of a project where MMS conveyed up to 4.5 million cubic yards of federal sand in Brevard county. The same
OCS borrow site was used minimizing impacts to the environment and resulting in a seamless, continuous beach maintenance project.
The MMS, a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior, is the federal agency that manages the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf. The agency also collects, accounts for and disburses more than $5 billion per year in revenues from federal offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on federal and Indian lands.
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MMS Internet website address: http://www.mms.gov