The Beach Boondoggle; Op Ed by Robert Young

Hurricane Matthew was not a megadisaster like Superstorm Sandy or Hurricane Katrina, but if precedent holds, simply rebuilding the beaches may cost federal taxpayers billions of dollars.

Money and sand: will there be enough for New Jersey’s beaches?

Beach replenishment is costly and exacts a heavy toll on the environment, depleting underwater ridges that are home to a broad variety of sea life. Skeptics questioned how the state and Army Corps of Engineers can commit to spending nearly $2 billion in beach replenishment through the mid 21st century.

Marine life dwindles after beach renourishment at Folly Beach, SC

In what’s considered the first study of its kind in South Carolina, a state scientific report says two beach renourishment projects had a long-lasting effect on bugs, small shellfish and worms that lived in areas where offshore-sand mining occurred at Folly Beach.