The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District received supplemental funding for disaster recovery projects on Folly Beach, Myrtle Beach, Edisto Beach, Pawleys Island, the Charleston Harbor and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. These South Carolina projects are part of the additional work that USACE Headquarters announced as plans to accomplish with the funding provided for disaster recovery in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, signed into law February 9, 2018. Approximately $17.398 billion was provided for disaster recovery across the country. The funds provided will attend to both long-term and short-term disaster recovery projects. Below, you will find the background and status of each project that received funding, including the plan for each project and a timeline as that information is determined.

The Charleston District has already received and used $29 million of this funding for short-term repairs in its award of a $34.8 million project for the rehabilitation of the Myrtle Beach Coastal Storm Risk Management project, which began in August 2018 and placed approximately 1.4 million cubic yards of beach fill on the shorelines of North Myrtle, Myrtle, Garden City and Surfside Beaches. 

The Folly Beach Coastal Storm Risk Management Project received approximately $2 million to extend the project that began in July 2018. This project will place approximately 300,000 cubic yards of material from 8th Street East to the groin at the Folly Beach County Park. The project was completed in November 2018.

Pawleys Island was listed on the construction funding decision. This project has been previously authorized as a federal project, but construction had not been appropriated for funding until now. The Charleston District has been discussing plans with Pawleys Island as they tied their beach renourishment project with this project in 2019. The federal portion is approximately 1/3 of the entire profile of Pawleys Island.

On September 21, 2018, the Charleston District awarded a contract to Goodloe Marine Inc. for $9.3M for maintenance dredging in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. This is the largest AIWW dredging contract in recent memory for the Charleston District, removing more than 1 million cubic yards of material from high shoaling areas in the waterway between Georgetown and Charleston. Completion of this project will provide safe and navigable transportation along this stretch of the AIWW for both commercial and recreational users. The project was completed in summer 2019.

The funding for the Charleston Harbor was provided to replace lost sand and provide long-term maintenance of the rock structure on the southern jetty on Morris Island. The project was completed in February 2020. This was the first maintenance work ever needed on either jetty.

The Folly Beach General Reevaluation Report will examine alternative measures to continue to deliver the coastal storm risk management benefits. This study is proposed to be completed within three years and cost less than$ 3 million from the time it commences. Learn more about the project and view all documents associated with it by clicking over to the project page.

The Charleston Peninsula study will evaluate possible actions intended to provide long-term risk reduction from flooding on the City of Charleston’s peninsula. This study is proposed to be completed within three years and cost less than $3 million from the time it commences. For more information and full details on the study, click here.