GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A beach on Mississippi’s westernmost barrier island is being rebuilt.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said Friday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is pumping nearly 50,000 cubic yards (38,000 cubic meters) of sand daily onto Cat Island’s East Beach.
Hosemann, who oversees state lands, says the renourishment project will finish in mid-October.
The federal government gave Mississippi an additional 492 acres (199 hectares) on the Gulf of Mexico island in December.
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The Corps of Engineers paid BP PLC $13.7 million using federal aid from 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, and is spending another $16 million on the beach.
The oil company bought the land while cleaning up 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Hosemann says rebuilding the beach keeps the island from eroding and protects the mainland during hurricanes.