The following news release was issued by Volusia County Community Information on Monday, Dec. 5 at 4:50 p.m.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has amended the Volusia County-specific Emergency Final Order (EFO), allowing for additional flexibility for the agency to permit seawall structures in Volusia County. FDEP remains the only authority that may issue coastal construction permits for seawalls.

In normal situations, structures must be deemed both "eligible" and "vulnerable" for FDEP to issue a seawall permit. The term "eligible" refers to a nonconforming structure constructed before 1985 without a permit issued by FDEP. The term "vulnerable" refers to a structure's foundation that is exposed, or in the alternative, an engineer may demonstrate that a structure would become exposed by a 15-year storm interval. The previous EFO waived the "eligible" requirement.

This amendment to the EFO now classifies all structures within the developed shorelines of Volusia County between reference monuments R51 to R143 (Amsden Rd. in Ormond Beach south to Inlet Harbor Rd. in Ponce Inlet) and R161 to R194 (Sapphire Ave. south to the Sandpiper Condominium in New Smyrna Beach) as "vulnerable."

All structures outside of these reference monuments are not included under this amendment; therefore, they still must meet the "vulnerability" criteria when a resident is seeking a seawall permit from FDEP. However, residents with an outlier property may reference a 25-year storm interval when applying for the permit.

The amended EFO also waives a provision that only allows seawalls for existing structures. This will allow a seawall to be permitted where a structure was destroyed or substantially damaged by the storm.

The amended EFO is set to expire on Jan. 6, 2023, consistent with the Governor’s Executive Order for Hurricane Nicole.

The amended EFO may be found by visiting the emergency declaration page at volusia.org/pin. Residents seeking a seawall permit or information regarding reference monuments are encouraged to contact FDEP at 850-245-2094 or 850-245-8570. For a limited time, FDEP staff are available to speak to residents at 440 S. Beach St., Daytona Beach.