HomeMy Public PortalAboutLTC 091- 2020 - Sargassum update-6-26-20-JMG (002)
OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER LETTER TO COUNCIL
NO. 091-2020
To: Mayor Gabriel Groisman and Members of the Village Council
From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager
Date: June 26, 2020
Subject: Accumulated Sargassum Seaweed on Bal Harbour Beach
The purpose of this Letter to Council (LTC) is to provide an update regarding the ongoing
efforts taken by the Miami Dade County Parks and Open Spaces Department (POSD), to
address the Sargassum seaweed accumulation on the northern section of the Bal Harbour
Beach near the Baker’s Haulover Inlet Jetty and throughout the beach.
The Sargassum seaweed deposits were noted this year in early April and in response,
POSD began the Sargassum collection according to their prescribed plan to remove these
accumulations at specific “Hot Spots” along the County Beaches and specifically, the
portion of the Bal Harbour Beach from the Jetty south approximately eight hundred (800),
linear feet.
The current scheduled activities conducted by the POSD staff are detailed below:
1. Tractors with blades cut and turn the seaweed on the shoreline seven (7) days per
week;
2. Bal Harbour Beach is scheduled to be sand sifted four (4) times annually. The Beach
has received five (5), sand sifting actions to date, with more scheduled as
operational capacity permits;
3. Sargassum seaweed “hot spot” removal by the County Contractor is currently
supposed to be conducted daily from March to October and as needed from
November to February. This collected Sargassum is prescribed to be removed
daily;
4. Manual Dune litter control occurs once daily on Bal Harbour Beach and a secondary
cycle is available as needed in the afternoon.
You should remember that the State of Florida has the legal jurisdiction of the Beaches
and the Miami Dade County, Parks and Open Spaces Department is the primary
organization permit holder charged with Beach cleaning and maintenance. Historically,
the Village has significantly supplemented the efforts of the County in this area.
2
In the FY 2020 Miami Dade County Budget allocation for Beach maintenance, funding was
secured to provide for the enhanced cleaning and seaweed removal efforts currently
conducted by POSD along Bal Harbour Beach.
Additionally, in response to the COVID 19 Event and the subsequent reduction of Resort
Tax revenues, the Village supplemental funding for Beach sand sifting and cleaning was
adjusted. At this time, Bal Harbour Village funded actions to sift, rake and clean the beach,
are suspended and will not occur unless the County efforts are insufficient to address the
needs of the Village.
The Village included funding in the Beautification budget of the Resort Tax fund to
augment beach cleanliness efforts and specifically augment (if needed), the efforts of
Miami Dade County. Unfortunately, as COVID 19 has dramatically impacted the revenues
collected in the Resort Tax fund, we have implemented significant cuts in our expenditures.
The funding identified to augment the County efforts have been frozen at this time. I have
instructed staff to monitor the situation closely and if necessary, we would revisit that
decision.
It should also be noted that, while the shoreline of the Beach receives Sargassum seaweed
cleaning, there is no State of Florida action permitted to remove Sargassum while it is
present in the water. Since August 11, 2014, within the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico,
Sargassum has been designated as a critical habitat for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, by the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
This habitat designation includes the near shoreline presence of Sargassum. Since
hatchling Sea Turtles are often present within the shoreline Sargassum deposits,
mechanical equipment used to remove Sargassum seaweed within the water at the
shoreline is not permitted by the state of Florida. A link to the entire document is provided
for your review.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/07/10/2014-15748/endangered-and-
threatened-species-critical-habitat-for-the-northwest-atlantic-ocean-loggerhead-sea
Last summer in the continuing effort to explore potential solutions regarding the seaweed
issue, we met with several vendors who provide boom systems to prevent the seaweed
from coming to shore and other vendors who supply boats that could move the seaweed
while it is still in the water. Staff also participated in a collaborative meeting with Miami
Dade County representatives to search for remedies. Efforts by private companies to
development methods to remove Sargassum while it is in the water to reduce beach
deposits continue. However, while these actions may occur in other regions and countries,
we have been advised that until these methods demonstrate that they do not endanger
juvenile Sea Turtles and the necessary permits are obtained, Sargassum is not permitted
to be removed while it is present in the water along the United States coastline. Currently,
these In-Ocean Mitigation strategies are not supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Services and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
2
We will reach out representatives of the State permitting agencies to determine if new
information or strategies have been identified since our last interaction with them last year.
As new information becomes available, I will continue to provide updates. If you have, any
questions please feel free to contact myself or John Oldenburg directly.
JO/JMG