Could Supreme Court Decision Discourage Future Funding for Beach Nourishment?
This year the federal government will spend an estimated $103.7 million on beach nourishment projects http://sealevelrise.blogspot.com/2009/10/beach-repair-funding-chopped.html. Beach nourishment is the practice of rebuilding sand beaches lost to erosion along the nation’s coastlines. Many of the projects are in front of shoreline communities, where houses and businesses are threatened by erosion each year. Many of these communities have stated that without federal funding, houses and businesses will wash away as beach erosion moves inland. Over the years there has been substantial public debate over whether this is a good use of government funds. On Wednesday December 2 the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, Docket No. 08-1151. The case arose in 2004, when property owners filed a lawsuit to halt the planned restoration of beaches in Walton County along the Florida Panhandle. Under the state’s Beach and S
