Sarasota, Fla. – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has recently granted a permit to dredge Big Pass – continuing the four-year battle over sand.
The dredging is part of a Lido Key shoreline re-nourishment project, which aims to replenish 1.6 miles of the Lido Key with sand from Big Pass.
Although the project is backed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city of Sarasota, the plans have provoked considerable opposition from Siesta Key residents.
"It'll be catastrophic not just for Siesta Key but for our ecosystem, our economics,” Siesta Key businessman Michael Holderness said.
Holderness owns Beach Side Villas and has 200 rentals on Siesta Key. He’s also part of Save our Siesta Sands 2 (SOSS2) group. They’re fighting the DEP’s permit to the City of Sarasota -- giving it the green light to dredge Big Pass between Siesta and Lido Key.
The permit authorizes the project team to take 1.3 million cubic yards of sand from Big Pass to place on the central and southern segments of Lido Key -- a plan which is expected to cost around $22 million.
SOSS2 said the threat lies in the negative impact on Siesta Key property values, the elimination of the only viable Sarasota boating access to the Gulf and the risk to Siesta Key losing its iconic beach and number one status.
"Ninety-nine percent quartz crystal sand feeds Siesta Key. Lido does not have quartz crystal. They take this out, they take our storm protection -- our sand source,” Holderness explained.
SSOS2 also claims the permit violates several federal laws and has hired a Jacksonville lawyer to try and prove it. For the last 18 months, the matter has been causing what some are calling a "Sand War" in court.
Meanwhile, on the north side of Siesta is Lido Key where 2.4 miles are critically eroded.
The city received emergency funding to re-nourish the beach as a short term solution this winter. The long-term plan is to dredge Big Pass on the south end, make it navigable and reclaim the sand that washed away. The order allows dredging four times over 15 years. As a result of a previous lawsuit by the group, the new order calls for less recycled sand and restricts dredging in two locations during spotted sea trout spawning season.
“If Siesta erodes, they won’t come to Lido. They won’t come at all period," Holderness said.
The Save Our Siesta Sands 2 group is raising $50,000 online for legal fees.
The city has plans to start dredging Big Pass in the spring.
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