U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Communications

MMS and U.S. Navy Cooperate to Protect Virginia Shoreline

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) today announced an agreement with the U.S. Navy to allow use of federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sand for shore protection of its Fleet Combat Training Center located near Virginia Beach, Va.

Under the agreement, the Navy will construct a reinforced dune system using upland sand resources and restore the beach using federal OCS sand resources. MMS will provide sand for beach restoration, which calls for placing approximately 808,600 cubic yards of federal OCS sand from Sandwich Shoal, an ocean borrow site located more than three miles offshore the project site.

"This agreement highlights the increasing need for federal sand resources to mitigate coastal erosion and the role MMS plays in providing access to such material," said MMS Director CynthiaQuarterman. "In this case, the OCS sand will protect the shoreline from storm surges, high waves, and beach erosion for Navy facilities at risk. MMS' agreement with the Navy shows that different parts of the government can, and do, work together to benefit the public--an objective of the October 1994 legislation that enabled the cooperative project."

MMS is studying the potential effects of dredging sand from the continental shelf offshore Virginia. Because the ocean borrow site identified in the agreement lies within one of the study areas, the initial beach restoration portion of the Navy project will provide an opportunity for MMS to monitor the possible environmental effects of dredging sand at the borrow site.

MMS administers the federal offshore minerals program and manages the nation's natural gas, oil,and other mineral resources on the OCS, and collects, accounts for, and disburses about $4 billion yearly in revenues from offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on federal and Indian lands.

-MMS-

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