By Tony Judnich | 315-4438 | @Tonyjnwfdn | tjudnich@nwfdailynews.com

SHALIMAR Okaloosa County Chairwoman Carolyn Ketchel told numerous Okaloosa Island residents last week that the countys beaches will not have dirty sand with shards as long as shes a commissioner.

She and other commissioners then took a major step toward such a guarantee. The commission approved hiring an independent, special counsel to help ensure that any potential beach re-nourishment project will use the native, white sand cherished by residents and tourists.

The county recently had applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a 15-year permit that would extend its existing permitting for beach restoration on Okaloosa Island and Destins beaches by 10 years. The state Department of Environmental Protection has already approved the extension, which could take several months to be finalized.

While county officials said they have no beach restoration plans, numerous Okaloosa Island residents expressed concern Tuesday about the quality of sand used in any potential re-nourishment projects. Some of the residents were plaintiffs in a past beach sand-quality lawsuit against the county.

One of those plaintiffs was Rebecca Sherry, who is an officer in the Condominium Alliance of Okaloosa Island.

Pause the Okaloosa Island Corps permit application, she told the commission Tuesday. Use better sand.

But county officials said that without the permitting, they would have to start from scratch to seek the authority to re-nourish the beaches. They said that could take as long as a year at a time when the area might be struggling to recover from major storm damage.

I can clearly understand the level of concern about wanting good sand, commission Vice Chairman Graham Fountain said. But, Okaloosa needs to get this permit. Its sound public policy. There is no plan to add sand on the public beaches. Theres no intention to use bad sand. We dont want it.

County Administrator John Hofstad on Thursday said the special counsel would be tasked with representing the county in meetings involving staff, the Corps and the DEP.

At this point, Im not sure if (the special counsel) will be a single representative, or if we will have more than one person/firm to recommend, Hofstad said via email. The issue of pay will need to be negotiated once suitable counsel is located to provide representation on our behalf.I suspect that this will be a short engagement, possibly for a few months into the spring or early summer.

In 2010, David and Rebecca Sherry filed a lawsuit challenging the countys original permit application. In September 2011, an administrative law judge sided with island residents and ruled that sand the county wanted to put on the beach was not of the same quality as the islands native sand.

Three months later, the DEP secretary issued a final order to approve the countys permit to restore the beach. But the commission then voted against moving forward with the $12 million project.

Originally posted here:

Okaloosa aims to keep using white beach sand - The Northwest Florida Daily News