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Sarasota News Leader October 25, 2013 Page 36 state. It would initially add up to 300 feet to the width of the beach in some places. Every five years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would oversee renourishment, pumping more sand onto the beach to retain a designed berm. However, as the Lido beach plan has been taking shape, some Siesta Key residents and boaters have been questioning two major elements of the project. Both the placement of three rock groins on South Lido Beach and the proposed use of Big Pass as a site to "This is a project to mitigate damage to the dredge sand that will be used for the project beach from tropical storms or whatever else Mother Nature throws at us," U.S. Army Corps are proving controversial. of Engineers Project Manager Milan Mora Engineers with the Corps say both elements told media at a meeting Tuesday morning at are essential to retaining a buffer on Lido's Sarasota City Hall. shoreline. Jim LaGrone, project engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, used this analogy: The 1.1 million cubic yards of sand will act as a layer of fat. Without this extra sand, waves will eat away at natural dunes and the shoreline, eventually threatening condos and hotels on the key. The groins placed on the southern end of Lido Beach will reduce how quickly beach sand erodes by 35 to 40 percent, Mora told The Sarasota News Leader. The Corps has concluded that Big Pass is the best source for dredged sand that will be A slide from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Lido renourishment presentation shows details about the project. Image courtesy City of Sarasota