Florida lawmakers are looking for way to get sand from The Bahamas in order to restore some of the state’s depleted coastlines.

According to an article by the Sun Sentinel, Miami Dade and Broward counties have exhausted their deposits of available offshore sand leaving sand that is too far offshore to retrieve.

Officials are hoping that a massive water resources funding bill US President Barack Obama signed into law last month would be the key to getting sand from The Bahamas.

The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to study the potential of using foreign sand such as from The Bahamas to widen shorelines and protect coasts from hurricanes.

However, a ban backed by the US dredging industry on spending federal money on beach projects that use foreign sand blocks the way.

Florida members of Congress are trying to lift the ban, the Sun Sentinel reported.

The study provision in WRDA 2016 represents a compromise, said U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Boca Raton, who co-sponsored legislation to end the ban.

“I think we’re moving in a good direction,” Frankel said.

She said she would “be in touch” with the Corps of Engineers about whether the agency has money to conduct the study or money needs to be put in a budget.

The WRDA provision put no timeline on the study, but she said she hopes it will be done by the next time Congress reauthorizes WRDA, scheduled for 2018.

The Journal attempted to contact Minister of Environment Kenred Dorsett for comment but was unsuccessful up to press time.