U.S. House approves money for Wares Creek, beach sand

The U.S. House of Representatives has given final approval to $8.3 million in federal funding for environmental projects in Florida’s 13th District, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan announced

The House on Thursday voted 308-114 for the fiscal year 2010 energy and water appropriations bill (H.R. 3183) today. The bill includes federal funding Buchanan requested to help dredge Wares Creek, re-nourish Anna Maria Island beaches, make navigation improvements to Port Manatee and restore Sarasota Bay.

The Senate has not yet voted on the appropriations bill, which would require President Barack Obama's signature.

The energy and water appropriations bill includes $5.565 million requested by Buchanan to remove sediment build-up that has caused storm flooding in Bradenton’s Wares Creek neighborhood.

“For more than 20 years, the residents of this neighborhood have been waiting for government to provide flood protection,” said Buchanan. “This funding will save thousands of dollars in damages and improve the quality of life for area residents.”

Buchanan has now secured a total of $14 million to dredge the flood-prone creek and increased the project’s federal authorization from $13.8 million to $42.6 million.

The bill also includes $100,000 sought by Buchanan for planning and design required to include Anna Maria Island in the federally authorized beach re-nourishment program, which allows federal funds to be used to augment local tourist taxes collected by Manatee County to help pay for beach re-nourishment.

“This funding will allow the federal government to partner with Manatee County on periodic beach re-nourishment on Anna Maria Island,” said Buchanan. “This federal support is vital to the environmental and economic health of this coastal community.”

The bill includes $100,000 sought by Buchanan and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, to determine whether the federal government will accept maintenance dredging responsibilities for a federal portion of the Manatee Harbor basin.

The bill provides up to $5 million in federal funding to help protect groundwater that flows from Phillippi Creek in Sarasota County into the Sarasota Bay National Estuary by connecting area homes and businesses to central sewers.

The bill ialso ncludes an additional $1,313,000 sought by Buchanan and other Florida lawmakers for maintenance dredging of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

This story was originally published October 2, 2009 at 8:01 AM with the headline "U.S. House approves money for Wares Creek, beach sand."