By Walter Bonora

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Florida--In 1989 Hurricane Hugo slammed into coastal South Carolina, causing billions of dollars in property damage and severe beach erosion. Off the Louisiana coast Barrier islands are disappearing, and on North Carolina's Outer Banks, each major Atlantic storm causes property and beachfront damage.

In fact, nearly 80 percent of the U.S. coastline has been hard hit by coastal erosion caused by storms and other factors, such as urbanization, changing sea levels, destruction of sand dunes and their grasses, shifting barrier islands and ocean currents, and coastal wave and wind action that rearrange sand deposits.

To address this critical problem, the Minerals Management Service is

The use of this offshore resource for coastline restoration, authorized in a 1994 federal law, has grown rapidly in the last several years. In 1998, MMS signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service to use federal sand to restore a portion of Assateague Island in Maryland. The agency also reached an agreement that year with the city of Virginia Beach to use offshore sand to construct a beach restoration and hurricane protection project along a five-mile stretch of Sandbridge Beach, Virginia.

Offshore sand has also been used to rebuild beaches in Jacksonville, Florida, and Dam Neck, Virginia. From 1995 to 2000, MMS conveyed nearly 8 million cubic yards of sand for shore protection projects.

A recent example of the MMS role involves a unique initiative at Patrick Air Force Base here in Brevard County, Florida. The agency is providing federal sand for shoreline restoration at the base, which will use the sand to replenish and protect their beaches from storm surges, high waves, and erosion.

"This project will be the largest beach nourishment effort to date for Patrick Air Force Base," said Thomas Russell, a civil engineer at the base. "It also is our first attempt at pumping sand onto the beach, instead of hauling it by truck. 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," Russell noted.

Carolita Kallaur, MMS associate director for Offshore Minerals Management, said MMS is working closely with the base to help protect their shoreline "in keeping with our overall stewardship responsibilities and our obligation to the environment."

The agency's timely execution of its agreement with Patrick Air Force Base officials allowed for the restoration work to begin immediately, resulting in an economically beneficial project for the Federal Government. "Working with base personnel, the Army Corps of Engineers, and representatives from Brevard County, the state of Florida, and contractor Olsen Associates, MMS was able to respond quickly so that the project could be completed in the most cost-effective way," said Kallaur.