The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), in conjunction with Flagler County government, has scheduled office hours to address emergency permitting for necessary temporary and permanent repairs of coastal structures due to the impacts from hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
The office hours will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 2 (Thursday) in the Engineering Conference Room (located on the third floor) at the Flagler County Government Building, 1769 E. Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
Appointments are walk-in and on a first come, first served basis.
“FDEP is wonderful – this is a huge service they are providing our residents,” said County Engineer Faith Alkhatib. “They work so well with Flagler County, and this is another example of how they go above and beyond for our residents. (FDEP) Secretary Shawn Hamilton is always thinking outside of the box, and is a model for creating collaborative solutions that benefit everyone.”
Representatives from FDEP will be available to answer questions and assist with state or local emergency permitting, especially with respect to seawalls, sand sources, and walkover repairs. Residents, consulting engineers and contractors are encouraged to attend so FDEP staff can guide them through the process and ensure they are submitting complete applications that can be processed as quickly as possible.
Funding assistance is available through the Hurricane Restoration Reimbursement Grant Program for eligible homeowners who apply and qualify to offset costs associated with addressing coastal beach erosion from Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole.
Learn more about the Hurricane Restoration Reimbursement Grant Program, emergency permitting and storm recovery assistance resources available seaward of the coastal construction control line.
Joe D says
This is a great start in assisting the hurricane recovery. But I would hope this extended hours might include maybe 4 hours on alternate weekends for awhile and maybe another 1-2 full days on different weekdays to assist and accommodate residents needing permits, who work during the week, or are unavailable for the one March Thursday
After the devastation some people suffered from the storms, it would be sad if the ability to do repairs was slowed by PAPERWORK issues, due to short staffed permitting offices.
Was talking to a beachfront owner in Daytona 2 weeks ago, who said in THEIR county, almost no one could begin the reconstruction process because their county permit offices were so backed up!