photos - Blue Mountain Beach access - 7/28/05
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Well, it's official. The beaches are ruined forever. Brilliant work, Walton County! 
Wow. That is.. ugly.
From reading the decision to use the darker sand, it looks like they recommend covering it with three feet of white sand?
Will that really happen?
From reading the decision to use the darker sand, it looks like they recommend covering it with three feet of white sand?
Will that really happen?
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From Walton Sun:
As dump trucks continued to haul loads of dark sand to the beach at Blue Mountain, residents lined up on one side or the other.
?I am dismayed at the dark sand that is being dumped on the beach at the (County) Highway 83 Regional Beach Access in Blue Mountain Beach,? said Blue Mountain Beach resident Richard Fowlkes. ?Every tourist I have talked to feels the same. Most people that do not live on the beach question what is going on at our beaches. We are into our third day of constant dumping?
Fowlkes referred to a growing mountain of dark red sand that had been dumped at the access for projects to help beachfront homeowners shore up their property.
The sand does not come close to the color that was part of the white sand ordinance. Fowlkes was involved with the recent approval of that ordinance and said the ordinance is not bad, ?but the implementation of it is.?
?That sand does not comply with the color approved then,? he said.
Fowlkes said he is concerned about beachfront property owners, but putting darker sand on the beach will not only change the color of the sand, he said, but also the color of the water.
However, another Blue Mountain Beach resident, Lillian Torey expressed concern that stopping the projects would leave homeowners unprotected in the event of future storms.
Torey said she, her husband, Randy, and others in their community were working with the Department of Environmental Protection to get approval to shore up their property.
?I?m concerned about folks with homes on the beach that have already been damaged,? Torey said. ?There are four storms out there right now.?
As dump trucks continued to haul loads of dark sand to the beach at Blue Mountain, residents lined up on one side or the other.
?I am dismayed at the dark sand that is being dumped on the beach at the (County) Highway 83 Regional Beach Access in Blue Mountain Beach,? said Blue Mountain Beach resident Richard Fowlkes. ?Every tourist I have talked to feels the same. Most people that do not live on the beach question what is going on at our beaches. We are into our third day of constant dumping?
Fowlkes referred to a growing mountain of dark red sand that had been dumped at the access for projects to help beachfront homeowners shore up their property.
The sand does not come close to the color that was part of the white sand ordinance. Fowlkes was involved with the recent approval of that ordinance and said the ordinance is not bad, ?but the implementation of it is.?
?That sand does not comply with the color approved then,? he said.
Fowlkes said he is concerned about beachfront property owners, but putting darker sand on the beach will not only change the color of the sand, he said, but also the color of the water.
However, another Blue Mountain Beach resident, Lillian Torey expressed concern that stopping the projects would leave homeowners unprotected in the event of future storms.
Torey said she, her husband, Randy, and others in their community were working with the Department of Environmental Protection to get approval to shore up their property.
?I?m concerned about folks with homes on the beach that have already been damaged,? Torey said. ?There are four storms out there right now.?
I am completely horrified and stunned.
I thought the variance was an "Emergency Measure to be used cautiously to shore up critically endangered homes and help out devastated gulf front owners". Not a license "Indiscriminately to strew dark sand all over the place and allow people to tramp all over it so they can get easily to the beach".
Someone should be thrown out of office.
I thought the variance was an "Emergency Measure to be used cautiously to shore up critically endangered homes and help out devastated gulf front owners". Not a license "Indiscriminately to strew dark sand all over the place and allow people to tramp all over it so they can get easily to the beach".
Someone should be thrown out of office.
Seems like we have widespread panic and the county has thrown up its hands. It's almost as if they are furious and humiliated by the state DEP (who dares to use caution, conservation, and my OH MY GOD - SCIENCE!), so they are thumbing their collective noses and turning a blind eye to what's happening on the beaches.
There are all sorts of crazy retaining walls going up. They're supposed to be temporary but I'm sure will get covered up - until the next storm that is. Imagine 4,000,000 tons of lumber, steel curtains, and who knows what else covering SoWal beaches. :!: :!: :!:
Such a mess is being made that anyone opposed to dredging will have to give in just to cover the mess.
There are all sorts of crazy retaining walls going up. They're supposed to be temporary but I'm sure will get covered up - until the next storm that is. Imagine 4,000,000 tons of lumber, steel curtains, and who knows what else covering SoWal beaches. :!: :!: :!:
Such a mess is being made that anyone opposed to dredging will have to give in just to cover the mess.
On a positive note...the water looks gorgeous! :clap_1: I am getting so excited for our trip. 2 weeks and counting.
Regarding the sand...YIKES. I didn't think it would be that dark. It still seems to me that they could bring in sand from sand bars or somewhere offshore but what do I know.
Regarding the sand...YIKES. I didn't think it would be that dark. It still seems to me that they could bring in sand from sand bars or somewhere offshore but what do I know.
In reference to SoWal Beaches Forum - View Single Post - Dennis - official notices and info, which Munsell color chart are they referring to? The sand in the photo is startlingly dark. And I had no clue before reading this thread that the dark sand would change the color of the water, too. 
kurt said:
I've never seen anything so horrible in SoWal. I'm speechless.
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