Grand Strand left hoping for emergency beach funds

Grand Strand leaders are hoping for an emergency bill from Congress to accelerate beach renourishment after Hurricane Matthew.

The next round of beach renourishment for the Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach areas are scheduled for 2018, though federal money to support that effort has not been appropriated. Steve Chapman, president of the Grand Strand Business Alliance and head of that group’s statewide political action committee, said an emergency bill could work faster, since Congress’ larger spending package likely wouldn’t come through until after the inauguration.

“There’s hopes, based on what’s happened in the past, that there might be some kind of package,” Chapman said. “When there’s a disaster recovery deal, there seems to be pretty broad consensus.”

Local leaders said the Grand Strand’s delegation in Congress has been responsive to concerns after the storm. However, Republicans Rep. Tom Rice could not be reached for comment through his office.

Republican Sen. Tim Scott said in a statement that he toured coastal counties as soon as possible after the storm. “We will move forward and work to secure the necessary recovery dollars at the federal level,” the statement read.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham responded through a spokesman.

“Senator Graham has spoken to local community leaders about beach renourishment needs and with the appropriate federal agencies about possible funding,” spokesman Kevin Bishop wrote in an email to The Sun News. “Senator Graham understands the importance of tourism to our state and why this issue is so critically important to the Grand Strand.”

South Carolina lawmakers could find themselves in a difficult situation when it’s time to ask for aid money, however, because all of the state’s delegation, with the exception of Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, voted against a 2013 aid package for the northeast United States after Hurricane Sandy.

“We have heard people say that, and it’s unfortunate,” Chapman said. “I remember when the Sandy bill passed, there was a lot of … disgust in the fact that there was so much garbage tied into that bill that wasn’t related to the storm.”

Asked by email whether Graham’s vote on the Hurricane Sandy package could affect a future package for South Carolina, Bishop wrote, “Can’t say … no package has been put together yet.”

The push for beach renourishment money began long before Matthew, however. Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus was among a group of local officials that visited Graham in D.C. before the storm to encourage federal funding.

“I know (Rep.) Rice and our two senators are pushing for us extremely hard, and hopefully we’ll get some positive results out of that,” Lazarus said.

Hurricane Matthew pulled millions of cubic meters of sand off the Grand Strand beaches, according to officials’ estimates. Cherry Grove, in North Myrtle Beach, now has almost no protection from sand dunes.

But the south section of the Grand Strand, from Myrtle Beach State Park to the tip of Garden City in Georgetown County, was already awarded $16 million in federal funds for renourishment earlier this year.

Lazarus said that several municipalities are working to have the projects done together, because moving equipment used by the Army Corps of Engineers, which completes the projects, costs $6 million each time machinery has to be set up.

“We save $12 million if we do it all at one time,” Lazarus said, referring to the three sections of the Grand Strand in need of renourishment.

Even after funds are appropriated, other hurdles can stand in the way of a renourishment project. Government contracts have to be bid out, and the south strand project has not begun, despite securing funding.

The bid for the project was more than 25 percent over the anticipated cost, Surfside Beach Town Administrator Micki Fellner said. She said the Army Corps of Engineers was in the process of negotiating with the bidders.

“They’re trying to move the process forward,” Fellner said. “Our hope is that we won’t be pumping sand in the middle of the season. It would definitely be a problem.”

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 6:20 PM with the headline "Grand Strand left hoping for emergency beach funds."