Ponte Vedra Beach homeowners under investigation for taking sand

Cranes were moving sand on Ponte Vedra Beach. Some oceanfront homeowners are accused of taking it to protect their own properties.

Fresh sand dunes are now behind four Ponte Vedra Beach homes and tracks are left behind in the sand from heavy equipment.

Action News Jax was given video that showed bulldozers pushing sand to their property from another part of the beach.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection are now investigating these homeowners.

They were given warnings letters from the state that said evidence shows sand was pushed to create a small frontal dune at the base of an eroded one.

And violations of Florida Statutes may result in liability for damages and restoration and civil penalties.

According to DEP, homeowners must have a permit to do this and it must abide by the state’s environmental laws.

Action News Jax found that one of the homes in question belongs to the CEO of United Airlines.

We couldn’t reach any of the homeowners for a comment.

“I think they should be investigated,” neighbor, Dave Diederich said.

Diederich said he doesn’t think this was fair of the homeowners to do.

“The thought of they can just go take it wherever they took it from they thought they were able to do that,” Diederich said.

The homeowners have 15 days from when the warning letters were given to reach out to DEP to set up a meeting.

Statement from DEP:

“The department is committed to assisting homeowners recover from hurricane-related impacts as quickly as possible, while ensuring that as corrective actions and restoration activities are implemented for protection to the beach and dune system and private property, they also comply with Florida’s environmental rules and regulations.

The department has been actively working to identify, investigate and address all non-compliant emergency/temporary beach-related activities and notify owners where further actions are required.

As part of these efforts, the Department has sent Warning Letters to four St. Johns County property owners for sand scraping activities performed at their properties. These letters address noted potential violations during recent inspections.

A Warning Letter is the first step in DEP’s compliance and enforcement process. This is part of the department’s efforts to gather needed additional information regarding the specific circumstances surrounding these activities to further evaluate the noted concerns from a regulatory perspective.

DEP uses the information to determine if there were violations of Florida law. We will hold the property owner accountable if violations are found, by identifying necessary restoration and/or remediation actions with the possibility of fines or other penalties for damages as defined by statute and deemed appropriate.”