Army Corps eases beach permit process
| • | Makaha shore relief near |
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
The Army Corps of Engineers wants to make it simpler for the public to initiate small beach replenishment projects through a modified permit process.
The new general permit, which is awaiting approval pending a public comment period, is intended to provide alternatives to seawalls and reduce the time it takes to obtain a permit, said Sam Lemmo, manager of the coastal land program with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
In an effort to promote beach restoration and renourishment, government had to find a way to make it easier for people to do a project, Lemmo said. Under the old system it was easier to build a seawall than to replace eroded beaches.
"I can build a seawall with two permits, but if I wanted to put sand on the beach I'd have to get 13 permits," he said, adding that he wasn't sure about the exact number but that the process would stop anyone in his tracks.
Under the proposed process, only one permit would be required.
Lemmo said the new permit would be ideal for pocket beaches, which have rocky headlands that contain the beach in a cove-like setting, rather than for long stretches of beaches like Lanikai.
The Army Corps has jurisdiction over all navigable waters in the United States, so under the present system, anyone wanting to replenish a beach would have to apply for a permit from the agency and from at least three other agencies, he said.
The permit would allow property owners to dump up to 10,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach, said Alexander Kufel, Army Corps public affairs specialist. That amount would cover an area the size of two football fields, one-yard deep, Kufel said.
"This permit is really designed to assist the small landowner," Kufel said.
And when done with beach nourishment, restoration or enhancement, the permit would also allow sand retention devices, excavation, dredging or pumping of sand from offshore. A permit would cost between $50 and $250 depending on the amount of work to be done.
The state "programmatic" general permit for beach nourishment, restoration and enhancement in Hawai'i will be administered by the DLNR.
The public has until Aug. 10 to comment about the new permit to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by calling Lolly Silva at 438-7023.
