After successfully pushing the Trump Administration, Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) announced $12 million in Federal funding to renourish Tybee Island’s beaches and protect the shoreline.
How did this issue come to Georgia’s senators' attention? According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, after Federal funding cuts, the Trump Administration’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its 2026 work plan earlier this year.
This plan did not include funding for Tybee Island’s renourishment project.
When did they first act to save this project? In March, Senators Ossoff and Warnock first urged Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle to allocate Federal funding needed to help complete the shovel-ready Tybee Island Shoreline Protection Project.
In separate letters, both figures noted that the project was ready to begin and had already completed its environmental review. Sen. Ossoff again urged the Army Corps in June to allocate the Federal funding for the renourishment project.
What key figures had to say:
- Sen. Jon Ossoff: “Beach nourishment at Tybee Island has been a successful partnership between the City of Tybee Island and the Corps for nearly five decades. Senator Reverend Warnock and I are delivering Federal funding to help protect Tybee’s residents and businesses.”
- Sen. Raphael Warnock: “I’m proud to have secured this funding with Senator Ossoff to ensure Tybee Island’s beaches remain among the best in the country. This funding will not only help restore the beaches and continue to be an economic boost for the region, but will also protect Georgia businesses, families, and the local economy from damaging storm surge and erosion. Coastal Georgia is my home, and I plan to continue to advocate for it in Washington.”
Further Context: This isn’t the first time that Georgia’s senators have acted to support the area. In 2022, they successfully supported and passed the Tybee Island Storm Risk Management Act.
This bill authorized the Department of the Army to continue periodic beach nourishment for coastal storm risk management on Tybee Island for an additional 50 years.
