Tybee Facing Beach Funding Setback, Seeking Alternative Solutions

April 26, 2026 – Tybee Island’s plans to replenish its disappearing beach with sand will have to wait. In April, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declined to include $12 million in federal funding the city had anticipated as part of what is typically a regular seven-year beach nourishment project.

The rejection was not entirely unexpected since no nourishment funding was included in the Corps’ 2025 budget and this year’s allocations were set about 30% of requested funding across the country, City Manager Bret Bell said during his recent update to the city council.

Watch the April 26 Tybee Island City Council meeting – Facebook>

The setback has forced city officials to pivot toward developing alternative funding strategies while working with multiple partners, federal and state lobbyists and lawmakers to secure the project’s future. Both Georgia US senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, and Congressman Early “Buddy” Carter plan to submit congressionally directed spending requests to fund the $12 million federal share in 2027, which Bell said is expected to be approved.

“If that does come through, just a reminder, we would not be able to start that nourishment until the winter of (2027-2028),” Bell said. “Which means again, two beach seasons and two hurricane seasons that we still need to get through before we can tackle our beach.”

In February, Bell said the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography found that the city lost 54% of its beach to erosion since 2020.

While federal funding remains in question, the city did get a $1 million allocation from the state to help with allocation for a separate dune nourishment project on the Savannah River shipping channel. The area along the north end has experienced some of the worst erosion on the island, but is not included in the federal funding because it doesn’t meet accessibility requirements, Bell said.

“So, we’re on our own to tackle that section of the beach,” he said.

However, the project has encountered its own challenges, with initial bids coming in at twice the anticipated cost due to a shortage of beach-quality sand and long-haul distances. Due to the higher-than-expected costs, city officials decided to delay the north end dune project to align with a planned Corps of Engineers project, which they say will reduce costs by allowing the city to purchase sand dredged offshore rather than trucking it from inland sources.

Bell said no structures are expected to be threatened by the postponement.

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