FEMA Ruling on PCH Funds Down the Road

City officials may have to wait two months to see if they’ll get federal money to repair cliff erosion that they say threatens a portion of Pacific Coast Highway.

Stymied in earlier attempts to get help from Washington, Huntington Beach leaders went there last week to plead their case in person. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency has until May 20 to respond.

City Councilmen Tom Harman and Dave Sullivan, Public Works Director Les M. Jones, Deputy City Administrator Rich Barnard and City Engineer Robert Eichblatt met last week with FEMA Director James Lee Witt.

“We’re making the old ‘stitch in time’ argument,” Sullivan said. “It just seems so incredibly stupid to me to wait,” because repair costs will be much higher if the erosion is not stopped before it reaches the highway.

Though studies a few years ago indicated that the 4,000-foot stretch of cliffs would erode only a couple of inches a year, Jones said, waves from a 1995 storm chewed 18-foot chunks out of the bluffs in some spots.

The erosion has exposed pipes and sent light poles toppling to the beach 40 feet below. The erosion is now within 20 to 30 yards of the highway at one point.

FEMA approved a grant in late 1995 to repair the erosion and prevent any further damage. But the agency then reversed itself, saying it could pay only to repair the facility that was damaged: the walkway along the edge of the cliff.

“The grant went from $1.8 million to $15,000 to replace a few rails,” Sullivan said.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) arranged the meeting with Witt.

City officials think their meeting in Washington may be fruitful.

“I really do believe we have spoken to the right folks. We’re not asking for anything unfair,” Jones said, adding that other cities in similar binds have gotten disaster-relief funds.

The project will take at least a year and cost about $3 million, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers paying the difference between the amount required and what is being requested from FEMA, Eichblatt said.

City officials also asked FEMA for money to repair the storm runoff channel along Slater Avenue, which is starting to erode and threaten the backyards of residents along its path.

Jones said the city wants to upgrade the channel to county standards, lining it with crushed rock instead of just replacing the dirt.