Public Notice

FEMA Public Notice of Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment for Hilton Head Island Beach Restoration Project Beaufort County, SC

May 20, 2025

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hereby gives notice to the public of its intent to reimburse eligible Subrecipients for eligible costs to repair or replace facilities damaged by Hurricane Matthew occurring between October 4, 2016 to October 30, 2016; Hurricane Irma between September 6, 2017 to September 13, 2017; and Hurricane Dorian, between August 31, 2019 to September 6, 2019. Under major disaster declaration, FEMA-4286-DR-SC, signed by President Obama on October 11, 2016, and FEMA-4346-DR-SC and FEMA-4464-DR-SC, signed by President Trump on October 16, 2017, and September 30, 2019, respectively, Beaufort County was designated as adversely affected by these events and eligible for Public Assistance (PA) funding.

This notice applies to the three PA projects associated with the three aforementioned major disaster declarations for the Town of Hilton Head Island’s proposed Beach Restoration in Beaufort County, South Carolina, implemented under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5207.The proposed renourishment activities would occur along approximately 8.8 miles of shorelines within four engineered beach segments; specific locations listed below in Table 1.0.

Table 1.0 Engineered Beach Locations

The proposed project is to restore the shorelines of South Beach, Central Atlantic, The Heel, and Fish Haul Creek, to their full engineered design beach template with the amount of sand lost from Hurricanes Matthew, Irma, and Dorian, plus additional sand lost due to background erosion and natural littoral processes. These actions would occur concurrently during the Town’s scheduled beach maintenance activities per their beach management program. The beach-compatible sand for this project will be sourced from four offshore borrow areas: Barrett Shoals 1, Barrett Shoals 2, Gaskin Banks, and Bay Point. Approximately 505,078 cubic yards (CY) of beach-compatible sand and 419,931 dune plants would be placed along approximately 8.8 miles of shoreline (see Table 1.0 below for beach segment locations) to repair erosion as a result of the 3 Federally declared events. An additional 1,494,922 CY of beach-compatible sand will be placed to account for background erosion sand losses for a combined total of 2,000,000 CY. The background erosion sand loss would be placed at the same time as the disaster-related sand. This project will minimize the need for future renourishments as it will restore the beach to the full engineered design template.

FEMA has prepared a draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) to an Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared by U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE). An alternatives analysis was performed, which included the evaluation of the proposed action, and the no action alternative. The draft SEA is available for public comment and can be viewed on FEMA's, and the Town’s websites at the following locations:

SCEMD Website Location: https://scemd.org/stay-informed/notices-and-agenda/

Town of Hilton Head Island’s Website Location: https://hiltonheadislandsc.gov/beachrenourish2025/permits/

A hardcopy of the draft SEA is available for review at the following location: Town of Hilton Head Island’s Municipal Government Building, 1 Town Center Court, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928, (M-F 8 am-4:30 pm).

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies to consult with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for affects to federally listed threatened and endangered species. Both existing Programmatic Biological Opinions from NMFS and a project specific Biological Opinions from USFWS were utilized to minimize impacts to listed species by applying appropriate terms and conditions.

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to take into account the effect of their undertakings on historic properties. FEMA consulted with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and received concurrence for a determination of No Historic Properties Effected. Tribal consultation letters were submitted to six federally recognized tribes with vested interest in Beaufort County, South. No responses or objections were received regarding the proposed work.

Presidential Executive Orders 11988 and 11990 require that all federal actions in or affecting the floodplain or wetlands be reviewed for opportunities to relocate and evaluated for social, economic, historical, environmental, legal, and safety considerations. Lovers Key and Bonita Beach is located within a special flood hazard area, per Beaufort County Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) #45013C0502G, 45013C0506G, 45013C0444G, 45013C0463G, 45013C0461G, 45013C0462G, 45013C0454G, 45013C0458G, 45013C0456G, and 45013C0452G, dated March 23, 2021. The beaches are functionally dependent facilities that provide open space use for recreational and habitat for wildlife in addition to providing a higher level of protection to adjacent properties. If no action is taken to replenish the beach to maintain its profile, the Town’s infrastructure, including residential properties, would be vulnerable to higher wave action and erosion. In addition, the area would suffer from the loss of the recreational and economical values of the beach.

This will serve as the final public notice regarding the above-described action funded by the FEMA PA program. Interested persons may obtain information about these actions by writing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region 4, 3005 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, or by emailing FEMA-R4EHP@fema.dhs.gov. Comments should be sent in writing with the subject line "PA Hilton Head Island Beach Restoration Project" at the above address within 15 days of the date of this notice.