THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 12, 1996 TAG: 9607120476
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 52 lines
What Bertha and its successors take away, Congress seems ready to restore.
Congressional and city officials said Thursday that a key House subcommittee has approved federal funds for hurricane protection at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and the initial phase of beach replenishment at Sandbridge.
There are many bumps in the congressional-funding route, but the initial House action - as well as new initiatives in the Senate - add up to a big victory in the decades-long quest for federal help in saving the oft-battered shoreline.
The House bill, according to the officials, includes $8 million for the first phase of the hurricane-protection plan. This means that construction of a new seawall and a wider Boardwalk from Rudee Inlet to 8th Street can go forward as planned in October.
The city is paying 35 percent of the cost for the $102 million, four-year project to build the new seawall, widen the Boardwalk, extend the beach, raise the dunes at the North End and improve drainage.
The city and the government signed an agreement lastmonth to maintain the project and replace washed-out sand yearly for the next 50 years.
The House bill includes $487,000 to carry out that agreement next year. The sand-hauling project costs the city about $1 million every year.
Also, there would be $608,000 for Rudee Inlet dredging.
For Sandbridge, $283,000 was approved for preliminary engineering and design for sand replenishment.
Meanwhile, the Senate on Wednesday night approved a water-resources bill that would extend Rudee Inlet dredging for 50 years and reimburse the city $3.2 million for sand hauling between 1987 and 1993 while the federal commitment had lapsed.
A House energy and water appropriations subcommittee, headed by Indiana Republican Robert T. Myers, approved the funds in closed session Wednesday, declining to officially unveil its action until today.
The city survived a mini-storm in nailing down the initial commitment. In the spirit of federal budget-cutting, President Clinton proposed greatly reducing the federal share of beach erosion control.
Getting initial approval is a big victory for Virginia Beach Rep. Owen B. Pickett, a Democrat, and Sen. John W. Warner, a Republican.
The funding bill still must be approved by the full committee, as well as the House and Senate, before going to the president. But it's a start.
``This sends a real strong message that Congress is committed to a partnership with us in a project that we've been pursuing for 45 years,'' said Assistant City Manager Robert R. Matthias.
If Hurricane Bertha hits Virginia Beach, Matthias said, ``It will probably give Congress a firsthand view of how important their contribution is.''
KEYWORDS: BEACH EROSION SAND REPLENISHMENT FEDERAL FUNDS by CNB