#wrrda

[bbrownmedia]

WRRDA to the prez

Here I write of a long-anticipated deadline-fix-it measure (sort of) on page 191 of a massive water resources bill Congress just passed. Enjoy.

WRRDA finally spells relief for Carolina Beach.

Headed to President Obama for his signature, it’s the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which the U.S. Senate passed Thursday following House passage earlier this week.

Of the myriad water resources projects and initiatives WRRDA authorizes nationwide is a provision allowing Carolina Beach to maintain a vital shoreline funding partnership with the federal government.

That partnership allows Congress to cover up to 65 percent of the tab for beach nourishment–or “coastal storm damage reduction“–projects there, an arrangement that has been in place for 50 years and is worth millions of non-local dollars each time.

But 50 years is the limit, and while several coastal towns have similar funding arrangements, Carolina Beach’s was the first set to expire.

Rest of the story here.

[bbrownmedia]

Oh, WRRDA?

A U.S. House member visits a storm battered beach, which figures into a campaign to keep federal funding alive for sand replenishment projects.

Congressman Mike McIntyre expects an answer by the end of the month on the future of federal funding for the Carolina Beach strand.

That would be in the final version of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), of which the U.S. House and Senate have passed conflicting versions.

The Senate’s version includes a process to extend the expiring federal funding partnership that Carolina Beach’s shoreline has enjoyed for the past 50 years. The House’s does not.

WRRDA is sitting in a conference committee working to resolve the differences. Standing over an eroded segment of the Carolina Beach shoreline Friday, McIntyre (D-7) said he’s “optimistic” lawmakers will agree to keep beaches like this one under national protection.

“We want to try to get this done by Memorial Day,” the congressman said of WRRDA. “That’s our goal.”

Rest of the story here.