Times of San Diego: Rep. Levin Seeks Federal Funds to Prevent Bluff Collapses in North County
Rep. Mike Levin called on the federal government to approve funding for the the long-anticipated Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project to prevent deadly bluff collapses.
Levin’s request, which came in a letter Wednesday to the acting director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, follows the collapse in Encinitas on Aug. 2 that took the lives of three residents.
“Solana Beach and Encinitas have been ready to take action to ensure that this type of disaster does not happen,” he wrote. “It is past time for the Federal Government to step up.”
The project was authorized by Congress in 2016 to stabilize the area’s tall bluffs that erode due to high-energy storm swells. Plans call for widening beaches and adding tons of sand along an eight-mile stretch of coastline.
Levin noted that the cities of Solana Beach and Encinitas have allocated funds for the project, but are waiting on the Army Corps of Engineers to begin the planning and engineering process.
“We urge you to support the Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project in order to ensure no further lives are needlessly lost,” Levin wrote in his letter.
Levin represents the 49th District, which includes north coastal San Diego and south Orange counties.
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Source: By: Chris Jennewein