MS Gulf Coast residents will LOSE an additional $35,000,000 annually to BIG Flood Insurance. Then will have to sue to get their money when there IS a Claim.
Or....
Imagine if Hancock County, MS was the #1 Beach Vacation destination for the Mid-South*
Hancock County was named after Founding Father John Hancock, whose First & Largest signature on the Declaration insured “Fat George in London” could read it without his spectacles.Home to the giant Federal city at Stennis Space Center, Hancock County has grown at 8% over the past DECADE. (neighboring Harrison grew at 11%). HIGH Insurance rates (Wind Pool & Flood) are a drag on growth and cost money in risk mitigation the citizens would put to better use.
Much of the 7 mile long beachfront was obliterated in 2005, however in 2022 people are moving here from California, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania...and more.What would jumpstart Hancock County and launch it into the national consciousness?Imagine a 10-15’ causeway, encompassing 1,700 acres of MS beach front, making 5 or 6 lagoons for recreational and aquaculture use.
Flood Protection Infrastructure: 6.5 miles of shoreline protected from Hurricane storm surge and UNFCCC projected sea level rise.
Fisheries/Aquaculture: A closed aquaculture system producing 7,000,000 oysters a year in the west Mississippi Sound (currently 0 sacks/year) and protecting the breeding grounds of Jackson Marsh.
Tourism: The 1st Blue water beach from Galveston, TX to Gulf Shores, AL.
Potential Funding:
MS Tidelands Trust Fund
Leases (Commercial Stands, Food, Beverage, and Entertainment)
GOMESA
BP Damages
Oyster League
Corp of Engineers (Hazard Mitigation)
Opportunity Zone
Department of Agriculture/USDA
Governors Oyster Council
Taxes (Property, Sales)You zeroed right in on Taxes. If your property taxes went up $100/year, your flood insurance rates dropped by 50% and your home value went up $100,000... would you hate it?In support of the 2017 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan, the Rand Corporation published the report, Reducing Coastal Flood Risk with a Lake Pontchartrain Barrier. The conclusion: The Lake Pontchartrain Flood barrier WILL negatively impact Hancock County.From page 37 "...In general, all alignments have a detrimental effect on Mississippi and increase coastal flood damage compared with an FWOA ." [Future With Out Action]On page 38 of the conclusion, Rand made the following recommendation "...Louisiana could set up and fund a program to support additional flood hazard mitigation for affected areas of coastal Mississippi or otherwise provide more direct assistance to Mississippi homeowners and business owners to offset this damage increase if a barrier were constructed."Linking the Bluewater Flood Protection Infrastructure to the Louisiana Master Plan feels like a reasonable course of action to secure national funding.
Near Adjacent Projects
Nothing like the Bluewater currently exists; however, there are many successful near adjacent projects that are similar and support the approach.
The 2.5 mile, Dunedin Causeway Park (Dunedin, FL) was completed in 1963 for an estimated $17M in 2022 dollars as a joint venture with the State of FL, Pinellas County, City of Dunedin and Private Developers. It combines bike/running path, road, tourism, parking and beaches.
The Causeway serves as the entrance to the #1 Most Visited Florida State Park. Honeymoon Island attracts roughly 1,000,000 tourists annually.
Maintenance costs are shared among the State, County and City.
Do you imagine that $17M initial investment has failed to pay off for the City of Dunedin and Pinellas County, FL?
Causeway technology is 5,000 years old dating to the Neo-lithic Age.
Check valves, tidal gating, pond irrigation and aquaculture are common and simple.
Giant lagoons would be a beach tourist's dream. The possibilities for snorkeling, scuba diving, boating, surfing, fishing, swimming and beach competitions are endless. Crystal Lagoons installs fully man-made lagoons for resorts and tourist destinations. One has been recently approved (August 2022) in D'Iberville, MS
Will Hancock County, MS let this opportunity slip through their fingers?The Cost of InactionFlood Insurance discounts are expiring with the implementation of FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0 (Oct '21) As a result, Hancock County is facing ~$2.5M in ADDITIONAL ANNUAL flood insurance costs.Voters in other States are unwilling to continue subsidizing Mississippi's Flood Insurance premiums.The following stories from 2022 are anecdotal AND pointing to a useful conclusion.A home off of Waveland Ave now has a flood insurance premium of $512/year. That's going to rise 18% each year until it reaches the new premium of $1,400/year. It will take 6 years to reach the full price.A home in the Idlewood Subdivision that enjoys a grandfathered flood premium of $880/year was quoted to rise to $5,539/year. That's 11 years of 18% increases each year.A recently renovated 1,482 square foot home on Waveland Ave was quoted at $2,480/year. That's $200 a month FOR FLOOD ONLY.Like boiling a frog, the enormity of this existential threat will stay hidden until it kills Waveland, MS.80% of the City of Waveland is in a flood zone. There are approx. 2,500 homes in Waveland with an average expected flood insurance premium increase of $1,000/year (or MORE) to an annual maintenance of $2.5M a year above current levels. Saving 5-10% by increasing the Community Rating Score (CRS) of Waveland will help; however saving $50-100 a year with a $1,000 a year increase feels weak compared to building flood protection infrastructure.On 3/28/22, US Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss) has introduced S.3934, the Homeowner Flood Insurance Transparency and Protection Act, to allow homeowners to retain their existing rates vs being forced into Risk Rating 2.0. On 04/01/22, the companion bill H.R.7364, the Stop Flood Insurance Rate Hikes Act was introduced to the US House by Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA). Neither bill has advanced.On 9/13/22, The Regional Planning Commission for Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany & Tangipahoa went forward with USACE on the Pontchartrain Flood barrier project in an effort to prevent $1.2-$1.4B a year in hurricane storm surge damage.The clock is ticking.ConclusionLaws and Legislation may kick the can down the road, but a lasting solution will require the construction and maintenance of flood protection infrastructure.No plan is perfect and every choice has costs & tradeoffs. We must consider the actual choices available to us, and prevent the perfect from being the enemy of the good. The ideal "perfect plan" with $0 cost, 0 side effects or 0 tradeoffs is sadly MIA.
Would you agree that the whole flood protection infrastructure issue must be considered?
That whole issue including the costs & benefits of implementing and maintaining a protection solution and the costs, side effects and tradeoffs of inaction?The Bluewater Team :
Mark Henderson, Lazy Magnolia – Originator of the idea and Founder of the 1st MS Microbrewery
Keldrick Smoot, Smoot Consulting & Construction
Troy Henry, Henry Consulting
Tim Parkman, TPI, Inc
Danny Blanks, Pontchartrain Partners
Chris Medlin, ATI (+30 years experience in commercial building)
Avinash Mehta, Pivotal Engineering LLC
Allison H Anderson, Unabridged Architecture, PLLC
Micah Tinkler, Double Win Realty (current real estate broker, former scientist at the Naval Oceanographic Office)And …YOU.Funds are needed to validate the idea before filing for USACE & DMR approval.Would you be crazy to learn more?
No?
Drop an email below so we can send you a pdf copy of the original idea, proposed in 2019.
The Bluewater Project and its members and authors, do not endorse any particular candidate, issue or candidacy in this or any future election.
