Source: CBS4
March 14, 2010

Fort Lauderdale, FL - It used to be as regular as the changing tides, storms would erode sections of South Florida beaches and city officials would spend millions and millions of dollars to replace the sand that had washed into the sea.

But in recent years a decline in federal funds and tougher environmental regulations has made these types of renourishment projects more difficult to get approved.

In 2006, the federal government declared two species of coral reef off Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties "threatened". In doing so it created another hurdle for cities wanting to replenish their beaches because they had to ensure that the project would not choke the corals with sand, according to The Sun-Sentinel. Keeping a check on city plans, some environmental groups not only monitor federal reports on renourishment projects but also send out divers to monitor the corals as projects get underway.

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