October 28, 2024 | In The News

SIESTA SAND — Mother Nature provided a miracle in the face of natural disaster.
Hurricane Helene started the job on September 26 and Hurricane Milton carried it through October 10. Now, Midnight Pass, which historically ran between Siesta Key and Casey Key but was filled in the 1980s due to concerns with property erosion, is flowing once more.

“I am personally BLOWN AWAY!” read an October 10 post on the RESTORE MIDNIGHT PASS NOW!! Facebook group page, representative of nearly 9,500 members and the social media outlet for the nonprofit Midnight Pass Society II has been working as the grassroots support for the County’s effort to restore the tidal connection between the Gulf of Mexico and Little Sarasota Bay. The post contained a photo of the newly reopened pass and garnered 780 “likes” on the page.

Since then, the group page has blown up with hundreds of daily posted photos and videos of people joyfully boating, fishing, birding and simply enjoying the natural beauty of Midnight Pass.

So now what?

On September 10th, just prior to the storm’s reopening the pass, Sarasota County Commissioners unanimously voted for a motion directing staff to work with lobbyists, the community and state delegates to draft an amendment changing state statute language to allow for restoration of the tidal connection as part of a water quality master plan for Little Sarasota Bay. Prior to that, in October 2023, commissioners also unanimously approved the initiation of a feasibility study.

The decision to proceed with the study was based on information provided earlier that year by David Tomasko, PhD, Executive Director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, who pointed out the importance of previous tidal restoration projects. However, a 2023 $1 million state legislature appropriation request to fund initial design and permitting was vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Nonetheless, this past July, hopes were again lifted when the county received a $500,000 state appropriation in the FY25 budget for continued work on the feasibility and design for the project.

Applied Technology & Management, Inc. (ATM) was the coastal engineering consultant for the study, with the project taking place in two phases. The first phase cost $75,000, lasted about 180 days, and consisted of a review of existing information and process requirements, including speaking with stakeholders, researching state and federal regulations to develop options to provide tidal flow, and a report of recommendations for the board to plan the next phase if they chose to continue. The firm concluded that for approval of such a project by state agencies, the state must be lobbied for statutory changes regarding existing versus new tidal connections since the Florida Department of Environmental Protection had implied denial of a permit based on those concerns back in 2008.

On October 20, Jamie Miller, spokesman and government relations contact for Midnight Pass Society II, stated that, considering actions in the past which involved people displacing sand, such as when the Intercoastal Waterway was cut in the 1960s, when sand from that area was dumped on mangroves and created spoil islands in the north channel, and in the 1980s when the pass was filled, the county continued to put sand on that beach. “So, there’s a lot of sand in that area that is not naturally occurring there,” he said, adding that the group’s engineer, Karyn Erickson, had done modeling “that said exactly what did happen would happen, for both Helene and Milton.” According to Miller, Erickson said the energy behind the water in Helene would need somewhere to go and would breach the dunes due to lack of a pass, which was further reinforced when Milton arrived on an incoming high tide, yet water receded on Siesta Key. “We’ve claimed all along that in a storm, it is better if that energy is guided,” he said. “If it had opened anywhere other than Midnight Pass, it would have possibly destroyed not only property but lives.”

Miller said that since the pass had now formed on its own, and the government would be focused, as it should be, on the post-hurricane recovery for people and property, the nonprofit group has worked with their attorney and engineer and submitted language to the county and state supporting stabilization of the pass under the county’s Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency order. “The governor can, at the county’s request, add stabilization efforts to the emergency declaration for Sarasota County,” he said. Regarding the upcoming legislative session, Miller said he hopes, in addition to the clear focus on the needs of the area residents, the county will continue to work on stabilization efforts to keep the pass open as it has been a priority of the commission for the past three years. “Our engineer suggests that this process can be completed within a year and in compliance with the county’s Inlet Management Plan,” he said. “This overall plan would include surveys to determine depth and the actual center of the pass and then placing training groins to ensure the pass, over time, does not creep north threatening people and property.”

Miller pointed out that on October 20, for the first time in the 40-year history of the closure of the pass, there has been “complete political synergy” supporting its restoration, including from Congressman Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.). “Now that nature has restored the tidal connection, the question is, what is the best way to stabilize that area to keep the pass open?”

As if on cue, in an October 22 press release on his website, Rep. Greg Steube shared a letter he wrote calling on Lt. General William H. Graham, Jr., of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to permanently restore Midnight Pass, as it was the corps that closed the pass in 1984. “By reopening Midnight Pass, the water quality in Little Sarasota Bay would improve since cleaner water would be able to flow into the Bay,” Steube wrote. “This would improve water circulation, reduce pollution, and foster the development of marine life like oysters and shrimp, which have disappeared since the Pass was closed. Although we are still assessing the damage from Hurricane Milton that made landfall near Midnight Pass, it is very possible that the damage was mitigated due to the Pass being naturally reopened by Hurricane Helene. It is possible that the Pass provided an outlet for waters to escape from Little Sarasota Bay. Due to the environmental and recreational benefits of opening the Pass permanently, the Army Corps of Engineers should work to restore Midnight Pass expeditiously.”