Pallone Demands Beach Replenishment Projects Receive Recovery Act Funds

March 26, 2009

Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), along with 17 members of Congress, issued the following letter to President Barack Obama today. The letter concerns recent reports that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has excluded shovel-ready beach renourishment projects from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers list of projects to receive funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The New Jersey congressman believes these projects will spur economic growth by creating jobs and promoting tourism in coastal communities. Pallone also states that the projects are important for protecting communities from weather disasters and rising sea levels.

March 26, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing in response to recent reports that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has excluded shovel-ready beach renourishment construction from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers list of eligible projects to receive funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. If this is accurate, it is a continuation of a Bush Administration policy that did not fund construction starts or any new feasibility studies for shore protection. This exclusion is a major concern for coastal communities.

Beach renourishment projects are an effective way to help our economy recover. It will create thousands of good paying jobs and help protect and promote tourism economies in coastal areas. A 2002 study commissioned by OMB estimates that for a single typical beach nourishment project, $88.1 million is spent within the beach region. This creates almost 2,000 full-time jobs, with an estimated $25.5 million in wages and salaries.

Beach renourishment is also incredibly important to protecting communities against major weather disasters and rising sea levels. Storm damage estimates already at over three billion dollars per year nationwide will increase along the well-developed and low-lying Atlantic coast due to rising sea levels. Many beach renourishment projects will help coastal communities adapt and protect them from flood damage.

These projects are an investment against the damages caused by major weather events. Out of 18 states along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts, $6.8 trillion of insured property is vulnerable to hurricanes. The nation realizes this risk when hurricanes strike and individuals, businesses, and communities suffer. American taxpayers, through the federal government, bear the costs associated with indemnifying uninsured victims of natural disasters and rebuilding critical infrastructure. It is our view that beach replenishment is essential to protecting coastal property from rising sea levels and the threat of devastating storms.

We hope that the administration will change its policy and support critical beach renourishment projects up and down the coasts and the on the Great Lakes. Beach renourishment projects are critically important to our coastal infrastructure and will aid the economic recovery by creating jobs and supporting tourism economies. They are also critical in protecting coastal communities from dangerous storms.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

FRANK R. LAUTENBERG FRANK PALLONE, JR.

United States Senator Member of Congress

CHARLES SCHUMER BARBARA MIKULSKI

United States Senator United States Senator

THOMAS R. CARPER TED KAUFMAN

United States Senator United States Senator

MIKE McINTYRE STEVE ISRAEL