CARPER: Senate Approves Over $4.3 Million for Delaware Beaches and Pea Patch Island

Georgetown, DE- The United States Senate today approved more than $4.3 million for Delaware beaches and watershed studies, Senator Carper announced. The money was included in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that will fund spending through 2003. The appropriations will help fund beach replenishment and to protect Pea Patch Island from erosion. The funding is substantially more than the amount President Bush requested in his FY03 budget, though it is within the budget framework set by the Senate Budget Committee. “Delaware’s beaches are important to our families, our state’s economy and our nation. Our beaches are engines that drive our state’s economic growth,” said Carper. “The money approved by the Senate will help protect the beauty of our beaches and alleviate the erosion that threatens our shores.” The 2003 Omnibus Appropriations bill includes: · $2,000,000 for the Rehoboth/Dewey Beach Replenishment Project · $1,200,000 for Lewes/Roosevelt Inlet · $500,000 for Pea Patch Island erosion control · $294,000 for Indian River Inlet Sand Bypass · $314,000 for Study of Fenwick Island beach project Pea Patch Island is a 228-acre park located off the coast of Delaware City that houses Fort Delaware and Delaware’s oldest state park. The island, with its fort, seawall and other archeological remains, is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Erosion problems have plagued the island’s seawall over the last few years, threatening the Fort. The appropriations will help fund the mitigation erosion. The Army Corps of Engineers plan to begin construction of both the Rehoboth/Dewey Beach sand nourishment project and the Lewes Beach/Roosevelt Inlet project in the Fall of 2003. The bill must now go to conference with the House. It is expected that the bill will then be sent to the President to be signed into law.