California Representative Mike Levin announced last week that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will allocate $400,000 in federal funding for the Planning, Engineering & Design (PED) phase of the Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project.
The Army Corps also allocated $505,000 for the PED phase of the San Clemente Shoreline Project.
The announcement comes days after Rep. Levin hosted Dr. Pat Davis, who lost several family members from the bluff collapse at Grandview Beach in Encinitas last year, as his guest for the State of the Union address.
Several days before the bluff collapse at Grandview Beach last year, Rep. Levin called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide long-overdue federal funding for the Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project.
Since the collapse, he has repeatedly pressured the Office of Management and Budget to approve federal funding for the project.
“I am proud that we have finally secured significant federal funding to help secure costal bluffs in our community and prevent tragedies like the one Dr. Davis and his family experienced at Grandview Beach last year,” said Rep. Mike Levin .
“This funding will advance a critical phase of the Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project, and effectively unlocks additional funding that local municipalities have pledged to the project. While much more federal funding will be needed to secure our bluffs over the long-term, this is a significant step that was long overdue. I’ll continue work with Dr. Davis and local stakeholders to gain additional federal funding needed to make our beaches safe.”
The Solana Beach-Encinitas Coastal Shore Protection project was authorized by Congress in 2016. Its primary purpose is to stabilize tall bluffs that erode due to high-energy storm swells and rising sea levels, posing threats to life, property, and critical infrastructure, including Southern California’s main passenger and freight rail corridor.