County pursues joint coastal permit for Oyster Lake; crews opened Eastern Lake this morning

County staff told the Coastal Dune Lakes Advisory Board that the county has three existing joint coastal permits (Eastern, Western and Alligator lakes) and is working to secure a Joint Coastal Permit for Oyster Lake to allow manual openings when trigger elevations threaten infrastructure.

S3 said the Army Corps of Engineers began the noticing process in late spring and the county anticipates final permits by this fall, at which point manual openings would only occur when specific trigger-elevation criteria and infrastructure risk justify action. Staff also updated members that crews opened Eastern Lake earlier the same morning because it would not open naturally; staff will continue monitoring the outfall and prepare a closure report for the permitting agencies once conditions allow.

The board discussed ongoing beautification work at Oyster Lake, where TDC completed plantings and installed an irrigation well after initial plantings failed; the county is negotiating purchase of adjacent property to the east of the outfall to secure maintenance buffers and expects future design proposals to be subject to public input.

Board members asked for continued public outreach when redesigns or property changes are proposed. Staff reiterated that designs will be brought back for public comment prior to implementation.