LTC 256-2007 Federal Appropriations Updatem ;~IAMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC #256-2007 LETTER TO COMMISSION
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TO: Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission ~= °
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FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager ~ ~
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DATE: November 7, 2007 ° ~
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SUBJECT: FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE ~-, tv
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The purpose of this LTC is to provide the Mayor and City Commission with an update on the
City's Federal appropriations requests. As documented in LTC 170-2007, there are currently
three earmarks totaling $1,975,000 included in the House and Senate appropriations bills.
Unfortunately, due to a budget standoff between Congress and the White House, these
spending bills have not been finalized.
The Administration and the City's Washington lobbyists continue to work with the
Congressional delegation to ensure the inclusion of the existing earmarks in the final
appropriations legislation. The current earmarks are:
$725,000 for the After School Teen Intervention Program, included within the
Department of Justice title of the House FY 2008 Commerce, Justice, Science
Appropriations Bill;
• $750,000 for the City Center Housing Initiative, included within the HUD title of the
Senate FY 2008 Transportation, Treasure, HUD Appropriations Bill; and
• $500,000 for the Atlantic Greenway Corridor Network, included within the
Transportation and Community System Preservation Program title of the House FY
2008 Transportation, Treasury, HUD Appropriations Bill.
The City is also working to ensure final passage of S. 1611 / H.R. 1195, which are Technical
Corrections to the SAFETEA-LU Transportation Authorization bill which includes an
additional $620,000 for the West Avenue Bridge project.
Additionally, during the past two weeks, the Administration and the City's lobbyists have
spent a significant amount of time working with our Congressional Delegation in response to
the Army Corps of Engineers' rejection of the Letter Report dealing with domestic sources of
sand for beach renourishment. A detailed update on this issue was provided on October 31,
2007 via LTC No. 241-2007. A subsequent letter to the Army Corps of Engineers is
attached.
I will continue to update you as the Federal appropriations process continues. In the
meantime, if you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate
to contact me.
JMG/HF/k
Attachment
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November 1, 2007
The Honorable John Paul Woodley, Jr.
Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil Works
108 Army Pentagon
Room 3E446
Washington, DC 20310-0108
Dear Mr. Secretary:
We are profoundly disappointed with the Corps response dated October 26`" 2007
regarding the request to acquire sand from non-domestic sources in order to maintain federally
authorized renourishment projects in Miami-Dade County. To receive a response indicating that
the July study was incomplete, after being assured during our face to face meeting that the study
would be completed by October 2007 seems disingenuous to say the least.
In your letter dated June 5`", 2007, you stated that the Corps has for some years now been
working on a letter report in order to use environmentally suitable non-domestic sand on the
beaches, and during our June 2007 Delegation wide meeting, we expressed our grave concerns
about the amount of time the Corps' current process was taking to complete and review the
report. Today Tropical Storm Noel is passing the Miami-Dade County coastline -and the winds
associated with the storm are expected to cause up to $1 billon in damages to Florida beaches.
We believe we are one hurricane away from severe damages to Miami-Dade County beaches,
which will cause irreversible environmental damage as well. Considering that the Army Corps
of Engineers had found that beaches prevented tens of millions in property damage during
Hurricane Andrew in 1992, we find it incredulous that the Corps cannot complete this study
which will allow the County to maintain these vital beaches, which are rapidly eroding away.
In a letter to the Corps from both our offices, we requested monthly written updates on
the Corps progress regarding the alternative sand source study. Since the letter was delivered on
April 30'", we have received only two written updates. The lack of regular written updates, in
conjunction with the fact that instead of completing the decade long study in October 2007 as
promised, a "new" delay was announced, causes us to seriously questions the Corps' dedication
towards solving the critical erosion problems in Miami-Dade County.
The Corps' overdue response, after almost a decade of study and coordination,
demonstrates a complete lack of understudying of the importance of our beaches as well as the
underlying law. We are specifically upset that the Corps seems to have changed the plain
language of the law from either environmental or economic to environmental and economic.
The safety of all coastal residents is too important to handle this matter as business as usual. "The
Jacksonville District, in coordination with the local sponsors and other interested parties, has
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studied many potential sources for sand. These range from the sand in the Panhandle along the
Apalachicola River to sand off shore other Florida counties, to the remaining deposits of sand in
Miami-Dade County. In each instance, the source ultimately proved unacceptable.
Mr. Secretary, we appreciate your leadership on this important issue and understand that
you share our frustration. As a way ahead we suggest two steps: First, another meeting with the
Florida Congressional delegation with you and each of the Commanders involved. We fear that
without the personal commitment of these leaders to maintain a schedule, our beaches will not
receive the sand they need and our residents will remain extremely vulnerable to the next tropical
storm or hurricane. Second, recognizing that this project may not fit the Corps "normal project
paradigm", we request that you direct every Corps organization with approval authority to meet
with the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Management in the immediate
future to work on a solution.
We look forward to developing a satisfactory solution the issue. We remain grateful for
your understanding of the importance of these federal projects to the people of South Florida and
eagerly await your response.
e -Le me
Member of Congress
Sincerely,
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Member of Congress
Cc: Colonel Paul L. Grosskruger, Commander, Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District