Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/256534
"We have said that we're all in agreement that there are certain areas within Lido Beach that need sand. I don't think anybody's argu- ing that." However, she continued, "There are plenty of other sources [for that sand]. … There's no reason for [the Corps] to be putting a hole in our shoal" and potentially damaging the north end of Siesta Key as well as the public beach. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, work- ing out of its Jacksonville district office, has collaborated with the City of Sarasota on a 50-year plan to renourish Lido every five years, with the bulk of the sand coming first from Big Pass. The project manager for the Corps, which is expected to pay for about 65 percent of the cost, has told Sarasota elected officials and the public over the past few months that no funds so far have been appropriated for the project by Congress. Additionally, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will have to sign off on permits for the work, although Lido has state designation as a critically eroded beach, Sarasota City Engineer Alexandrea DavisShaw has pointed out to The Sarasota News Leader. A graphic from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers produced for a June 2013 presentation on the Lido Renourishment Project shows the potential sand sources relative to Big Sarasota Pass. Image courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sarasota News Leader February 7, 2014 Page 60