Because the project will be handled by DOBOR, the cost of the dredging will paid using state funds, with additional allocations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The draft EA estimates that removing the entire beach - roughly 175,000 cubic yards of volcanic material - would cost about $40 million. Two of those proposals were relatively fast and cheap - between $3.6 and $5.2 million - while a third, which would install breakwaters to protect the channel from refilling, would cost more than $60 million and take years to complete.ĭOBOR changed the scope of the project shortly thereafter to its current incarnation: removing as much of the beach as possible, with the sediment being dumped on nearby new land created by the eruption. In order to reopen the ramp, the Division of Boating and Oceanic Recreation proposed in 2022 a trio of options that would dredge channels through the beach.

The ramp - the sole access point for boats to enter the ocean in Puna - was cut off from the water in 2018 during the eruption of Kilauea, when lava entering the sea created a black sand beach roughly 11.6 acres in size.

Hawaiian dredging waterfront