Pamela Cody of St. Petersburg has been coming to Treasure Island in Pinellas County for years.
On Thursday, she unfolded a beach chair on a narrower spit of sand on Sunset Beach after storm surge and waves from Hurricane Idalia eroded the coast.
"This is all washed up right here,” she said. “It used to be a hundred yards of beach before you get to the water."
A narrower beach means less protection for homes and businesses along the coast. But a dispute over federal guidelines has delayed beach renourishment projects in Pinellas County.
That has Cody and other residents worried about the beaches during the height of hurricane season.
"It definitely affects the coastline any time you have a big storm,” she said. "But it’s about land management. It's about renourishing and taking care of our beaches; whatever they gotta do."
After storm surge and high tides from Hurricane Idalia closed barrier islands and gulf beaches, residents were assessing the damage while Treasure Island officials toured beaches that are already considered critically eroded.
Meanwhile, The City of Indian Rocks Beach has closed 14 of the 28-beach accesses due to sand loss and erosion.
Mayor/Commissioner Joanne "Cookie" Kennedy will hold a press conference Friday to discuss the impact of beach renourishment.
For years, Pinellas County has been trying to work with the Army Corps of Engineers on renourishment projects. But a dispute over federal guidelines has delayed those plans.
The federal agency is requiring property easements from beach community homeowners before taxpayer dollars are used to restore the beaches.
Pinellas County, which administers the beach renourishment projects across the county, was recently notified that planned projects for Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach, had been halted.
The county pays for the local share of the nourishment projects. The federal share for the Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach Project is 65% and the local share is 35%.
Paul Wille, manages the bar Ka Tiki, on Sunset Beach in Treasure Island. He says businesses are worried that diminished storm protection will impact tourism.
"With the hurricane and with the renourishment project being on hold it’s a little concerning," he said. "You know, that beach brings us a lot of business so we hope for a good outcome there. But being just across the street from the beach maybe one day we'll be beachfront. Not that that's what I'm looking for but that day may come."
Beach renourishment was last completed for Treasure Island in 2019.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says the entire beach along the three-and-a-half-mile Treasure Island is designated as critically eroded.
