HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-146STATE OF FLORIDA
MCIAN RIVER COUNTY
THIS I TO CERTIFY T HIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT
C F THE ORIGINA i",1 IS OFFICE
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Board of County Commissioners
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DATE
Indian River County, Florida
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County Commissioners
Deryl Loar, District 4, Chairman
Laura Moss, District 5, Vice Chairman
Susan Adams, District 1
Joseph E. Flescher, District 2
Joe Earman. District 3
Adam R. Telle
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
U.S. Department of the Army
Via Email to: VVRDA2024@USACE.ARMY.MIL
County Administration
John A. Titkanich, Jr., County Administrator
Michael Zito, Deputy County Administrator
Nancy Bunt, Assistant County Administrator
August 18, 2026
RE: Docket No. COE-2026-0034 — Indian River County Shoreline Protection Project
Dear Assistant Secretary Telle,
On behalf of the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners (Board) and the residents
of Indian River County. I respectfully request that the Indian River County Shoreline Protection
Project retain its federal authorization and be removed from the current proposed deauthorization
list. Please accept this letter as the County's formal public comment under Docket No. COE-
2026-0034.
Over the past 10 years alone, Indian River County has experienced 6 declared hurricane events
and numerous unnamed significant wind and wave events that have led to severe beach and dune
erosion. These conditions threaten public infrastructure, commercial activity, private property.
and the long-term resilience of the County's shoreline. To address these events along with
background erosion, the County has invested significant local funds in large scale dune and beach
renourishment projects to protect our community.
In Indian River County. 19.3 miles of the 22.4 miles of our shoreline has been deemed critically
eroded by Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Of these 19.3 miles, 2.2 miles was
considered by a Limited Re-evaluation Report as favorable for a federal project. Should the
federal authorization be retained, Indian River County is interested in working with USACE on
re-evaluating the critically eroded sections of shoreline for consideration, especially the Sector 5
management area, which provides ample public access and is supported by vast public
infrastructure.
The Board requests preserving the project's federal authorization so that the County may
continue evaluating whether a revised Coastal Storm Risk Management project is technically
feasible, environmentally acceptable, economically justified, and aligns with County coastal
management objectives. Retaining the authorization would allow that evaluation to occur before
the existing federal opportunity is eliminated.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Deryl Loar, Chairman
Indian River County Board of County Commissioners
cc: Colonel Brandon L. Bowman, Commander, USACE Jacksonville District
Jason S. Harrah, USACE Jacksonville District
1801 27th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960