From Walton Sun:
As dump trucks continued to haul loads of dark sand to the beach at Blue Mountain, residents lined up on one side or the other.
?I am dismayed at the dark sand that is being dumped on the beach at the (County) Highway 83 Regional Beach Access in Blue Mountain Beach,? said Blue Mountain Beach resident Richard Fowlkes. ?Every tourist I have talked to feels the same. Most people that do not live on the beach question what is going on at our beaches. We are into our third day of constant dumping?
Fowlkes referred to a growing mountain of dark red sand that had been dumped at the access for projects to help beachfront homeowners shore up their property.
The sand does not come close to the color that was part of the white sand ordinance. Fowlkes was involved with the recent approval of that ordinance and said the ordinance is not bad, ?but the implementation of it is.?
?That sand does not comply with the color approved then,? he said.
Fowlkes said he is concerned about beachfront property owners, but putting darker sand on the beach will not only change the color of the sand, he said, but also the color of the water.
However, another Blue Mountain Beach resident, Lillian Torey expressed concern that stopping the projects would leave homeowners unprotected in the event of future storms.
Torey said she, her husband, Randy, and others in their community were working with the Department of Environmental Protection to get approval to shore up their property.
?I?m concerned about folks with homes on the beach that have already been damaged,? Torey said. ?There are four storms out there right now.?