The Sebastian Inlet District contracted Taylor Engineering to design and permit a dredged channel to provide safe navigation through the inlet flood shoal to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The project area lies wholly within the Indian River Aquatic Preserve (an Outstanding Florida Water), within an important manatee area, and partially within the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. This location and the associated issues have resulted in numerous unsuccessful attempts to gain approval for the project. Natural resource issues include seagrass impact and mitigation, creation of a seagrass shoal by open water sand placement, and development of a comprehensive natural resource management plan acceptable to a wide variety of public agencies.

Taylor Engineering designed and implemented a plan to meet all the environmental concerns and engineering design challenges. Public petitions, letters from private citizens and resolutions of support from two counties, a local marina owner survey, and an inlet boating activity survey provided project need and justification. The EFDC three-dimensional water quality modeling compared a variety of parameters for with and without project conditions. Historic environmental data review and summaries supported extensive biological fieldwork for seagrass and benthic invertebrate communities at impact and mitigation sites. The mitigation plan for seagrass impacts caused by the project included restoration of damaged flood shoal, development of an ongoing public education program, and funding for an Indian River County stormwater treatment facility to improve Indian River Lagoon water quality.  The project was successfully permitted and constructed in spring/summer 2007.