INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A new Indiana law will require companies that dredge sand along the state’s Lake Michigan shoreline to use it to replenish eroded beaches.

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the legislation into law on Tuesday. The measure requires companies removing sand from the Port of Indiana and around industrial water intake pipes to deposit it directly onto northwestern Indiana’s badly-eroded beaches, instead of offshore.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports that dredged sand that’s deposited offshore may never reach the beach.

Democratic state Sen. Karen Tallian of Ogden Dunes sponsored the legislation. She thanked Holcomb for signing the measure and says that northwestern Indiana’s beaches are an important asset for the state.

Tallian says the legislation will ensure the “proper care for our beautiful beaches.”