Hurricane Matthew debris getting cleaned up from Nassau County beaches

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners voted last week to move forward and start debris cleanup from Hurricane Matthew.

Large construction machinery can be seen on Amelia Island beaches. Crews took away large poles and pieces of wood with nails sticking from them.

“They started with the communities and now it looks like they’re focusing on the beach,” said neighbor Pat Kiebler.

The cost to clean 10 miles of beaches and around 30,000 cubic yards of debris could be $700,000 to $750,000.

Scott Herring, Nassau County's director of public works, said they have a plan to fund it.

“The original main funding source is tourist development tax,” said Herring.

Herring said they were excited to start the cleanup process, especially since the island relies on tourists coming to its beaches.

“The beaches are the jewels on Amelia Island. We need to get the big stuff out of there to make sure no one trips and get other stuff out of there to make sure people can walk the beaches,” said Herring.

Herring said they're also working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and will seek reimbursement from FEMA.

Herring said it could be another 10-12 days before the crews are done. Kiebler is excited to see the end result.

Cox Media Group