South Padre Island officials worried about FEMA’s potential disaster spending cuts

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McALLEN — In the wake of the Trump administration’s announced plans to cut back on federal disaster spending, South Padre Island officials are concerned their beaches will be left vulnerable should a storm hit this hurricane season.

City staff alerted City Council this month that efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cut disaster assistance would limit the city's ability to receive funding for beach replenishment if a storm hits.

South Padre Island, a resort town at the state’s most southern point, is home to about 2,000 people year-round. Tourists from around the world flock to its beaches, and it is particularly popular with college students during spring break.

The Trump administration has made known it wishes to roll back the federal government's role in disaster recovery and shift more responsibility to states.

The proposed changes were outlined in an April memo from FEMA’s acting administrator Cameron Hamilton to Brian Cavanaugh, associate director for Homeland Security Office of Management and Budget. Hamilton has since been replaced.

Among the short-term changes proposed is limiting the type of recreational facilities that are eligible for public assistance funding, such as beaches, boat docks, parks and athletic facilities for which FEMA spent $2.5 billion over the last 10 years.

Of that amount, FEMA spent $541,792,230 on 727 beach-related projects.

Instead, funds would be limited to facilities considered critical, such as mass transit, ports and harbors, facilities critical to Tribal Nations' economies and food sovereignty, among others.

Kristina Boburka, the shoreline director for South Padre Island, argued that beaches are critical for protection against storms.

"This can be worrisome, as most beaches are the first line of defense and protection against major storms and tidal events for coastal communities and infrastructure," Boburka said in a statement. "It has been found that ensuring coasts have a strong and healthy beach helps reduce federal emergency funding in the long term."

FEMA did not respond to an interview request.

Maintaining the beaches sustains marine life such as sea turtles, birds, plants, and other threatened and endangered species, and also supports local and regional economies through tourism dollars, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District’s Operations Division.

While FEMA provides funding for beach nourishment after a declared disaster, most beach nourishment efforts are meant to address the steady erosion of beaches over time through a partnership between the Army Corps Of Engineers and the Texas General Land Office.

These projects, which consist of adding sand to a coastal system, can occur in three, five, or seven-year increments depending on the environmental dynamics.

“Beach nourishment is critically important to our state,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said in a statement.

Beach nourishment projects can cost the state between $3 million and $45 million. Two or three are completed annually in Texas, Buckingham said.

Completing these nourishment projects before a disaster strikes can prevent further catastrophe.

Federal investment in beach nourishment projects prevented $1.9 billion of damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Now the question remains whether the line of defense that the beaches provide will be replenished afterward, a growing concern with the arrival of hurricane season that is expected to have above normal storm activity this year.

With the administration's goal of pulling back on disaster assistance, cities and counties will likely be forced to lean more on state and local agencies to recover from damage done to the beach as well as nearby infrastructure.

The General Land Office was able to maintain the same level of federal funds for disaster recovery despite changes at FEMA, Buckingham said.

State lawmakers have historically given the land office an average of $31 million each two-year budget cycle for beach nourishment. There was no reduction in state funds this legislative session, but the land office missed out on an additional $100.3 million it requested for eight critical coastal restoration projects that are meant to protect vulnerable areas and Texans from future storms.

“As a Texan who grew up near the coast, preserving our state’s precious shorelines and their communities remains one of my top priorities,” Buckingham said. “Beach nourishment projects are essential to fortifying our coastline from future hurricanes, making communities safer, and wildlife habitats more secure.”

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

Disclosure: Texas General Land Office has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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