Time Line
1921:
A Hurricane opens Musketeer Pass.
1924:
Musketeer Pass is renamed Midnight Pass.
1924:
Blind Pass inlet at Point of Rocks closes, creating a long lagoon system between Point of Rocks and Midnight Pass.
1942-48:
Midnight Pass migrates north about 1200 feet.
1945:
Congress funds the 100 foot wide, 9 foot deep Intra Coastal Waterway.
1955:
Midnight Pass is more than 500 feet wide with a maximum depth of 13 feet.
1960 :
Hurricane Donna causes shallowing of Midnight Pass' north channel
1963-64:
Dredging of Intracoastal Waterway changes circulation in bay.
1972:
Hurricane Agnes deposits more sand in northern channel.
1983:
Midnight Pass shrunk to 50 feet in width with a maximum depth of four feet. Erosion causes homeowners to use sandbags to protect their homes.
December 2:
After sandbags fail, homeowners get permission to close pass in exchange for an agreement to open a new pass to the south and maintain it.
December 4:
Midnight Pass closed and new pass opened.
December 5:
New Pass closes.
December 8-Jan. 6, 1984:
New pass dredged three times and closes within days each time.
1985:
County pays for study to reopen pass.
1986:
County turns down dredging project fearing the pass would close again by 2000.
1990:
State denies application to reopen pass after county reversed position and filed an application.
1991:
County pledges to reopen and maintain pas; state turns down plan. Midnight Pass Society sues state over ruling.County chooses not to appeal ruling due to
1998:
County funds feasibility study to reopen pass.
2000:
Feasibility study recommends four options, the least objectionable requiring ongoing dredging.
2004:
County applies to Department of Environmental Protection to reopen pass.
July 2008:
DEP asked to rule that the county application is complete.
Sept. 2008:
County says it expects letter saying application is complete.
Oct 2008:
DEP says application is still not complete. Federal documents are still missing. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have not approved the project.
Source: Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Where will Midnight Pass move next?
Studies commissioned on the migration pattern of Midnight Pass between 1973 and 2000 demonstrate the uncertainty in predicting and controlling sand on barrier islands.
1973
Migrating South (Walton)
1987
Migrating North (Davis)
1989
Migrating South (Savage)
1999
Migrating North (Davis)
1999
Migrating South (Truitt)
2000
Migrating South (Camp, Dresser and McKee)
Source: Sarasota County and DEP
What have we spent so far?
Countless hydrology studies, feasibility studies, permit applications, engineering studies and legal fees over 24 years have cost Sarasota County taxpayers $1million dollars...maybe more. And for what? There is no permit! In fact, our elected officials have been throwing good money after bad since 1990 when Sarasota County first applied for a permit (6 years after the pass had closed). Perhaps the lobbying to reopen Midnight Pass has just been going on for so long, and so many campaigning commissioners have promised to keep fighting, that elected officials and County administration don't feel like they can stop.
A handful of homeowners and boaters have put tremendous pressure on elected officials for decades to open the pass. The elected officials listened…and tried…and after being denied permits, they sued and reapplied. Now decades have passed and so has the environmental damage caused by the pass closing. A new ecology exists and it is teeming with life. In fact, it is recognized as an Outstanding Florida Waterway. The water is darker now and it is an estuarine system instead of a marine system. Different but equally valuable. Opening the pass now would be ecologically devastating. We need to stand up and tell our county commissioners that we are through funding the fight. It is just fine with most people in this county if you just say, "Leave Midnight Pass Alone".
