DATE: Friday, September 26, 1997            TAG: 9709260778

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A6   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   48 lines

BUDGET CUTS WILL DELAY BEACH SEAWALL PROJECT BUT THE CITY WILL GET $13 MILLION TO BUILD 2 STORMWATER PUMP STATIONS NEAR THE WATER.

The budget-cutting ax wielded by a congressional committee Thursday means that almost no more Boardwalk and seawall will be built at the Oceanfront for another year, city officials said.

The $13 million approved by a House-Senate conference committee is less than half what the city had asked for.

The money will go instead to build pump stations for stormwater near the Boardwalk at 16th and 42nd streets.

In fact, only a small part of the Boardwalk-seawall project was planned for the fiscal year, which begins in October, because engineers determined that the pump stations had to be built first to avoid having storms interfere.

And because the House had approved only $10 million and the Senate $15 million, the city had greatly scaled back its plans.

And the city wasn't complaining.

Given the fact that President Clinton left all funds for beach improvement projects out of his budget, this is strong evidence that Congress supports the long-term, $102 million project, Assistant City Manager Bob Matthias said.

It could have been much worse, Matthias added. ``It's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.''

The House and Senate still must approve the compromise action, but those votes are considered automatic.

The question now is whether Clinton will exercise his newly acquired line-item veto, which allows him to strike individual appropriations.

``There's obviously a threat of the line-item veto, but we feel the federal government has made too large of an investment - about $15 million already and 20 years of planning - to turn back at this point,'' Matthias said.

The 16th Street pump station, which will carry stormwater runoff through pipes under the beach out into the ocean, has already gone out for construction bids and work could begin within 30 days.

A small section of boardwalk near 16th Street might be built as part of the pump station project, but a larger section of Boardwalk planned for this year would be delayed for another year, Matthias said.

The congressional negotiators also approved $925,000 for the city's spring beach replenishment, which rebuilds the beach every year after winter storms.

They also agreed to spend $535,000 for the federal government's share of dredging Rudee Inlet.

The federal share for these projects is 65 percent; the city's, 35 percent. KEYWORDS: FEDERAL FUNDING VIRGINIA BEACH OCEANFRONT

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