U.S. Senator Susan Collins today spoke on the Senate floor in support of final passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) conference report. This legislation authorizes $26.9 million to help ensure that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have the funds necessary to fully protect the residents and beachfront at Camp Ellis in Saco.
Specifically, WRDA authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out the Camp Ellis Beach Restoration Project, authored by Senator Collins, to mitigate shore damage attributable to the Saco River project.
The following is the full text of Senator Collins' floor statement.
Mr. President, I rise today in support of the conference report for H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. This bill authorizes important studies and projects to protect and maintain water resources throughout the country.
I am especially pleased that the conference report includes $26.9 million for Camp Ellis, Maine. I thank the conferees for maintaining this funding in the bill.
More than 100 years ago, the Army Corps built a jetty extending out from the Saco River, adjacent to Camp Ellis Beach. This jetty altered the pattern of currents and sand deposition and is the primary cause of the devastating erosion of Camp Ellis.
The extent of the erosion is truly shocking. Some 36 houses have washed into the sea in the last 100 years. The 1998 shoreline is 400 feet from where the shoreline stood in 1908. The houses that are now in danger were once six or more houses back from the sea.
In April, a devastating Patriots’ Day Nor’easter hit Maine with heavy rain and high winds. This terrible storm, the worst natural disaster to strike Maine since the Ice Storm of 1998, caused massive storm surges, astronomical high tides, and inland and coastal flooding. After the storm, David Paulison, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, accepted my invitation to tour Camp Ellis. We saw that several seasonal homes along the oceanfront were destroyed. The incredible force of the ocean literally washed out the foundations of the homes. The street that once ran along the oceanfront was partially destroyed, leaving nothing between the remaining homes and the open ocean.
Many homeowners in the area were still dealing with flooded basements for weeks following the storm. This was a vivid reminder of the terrible impact that a powerful storm can have on Camp Ellis. The sea has advanced such that another large storm could wash out the peninsula and turn Camp Ellis into an island. Such an event would be devastating to the people of Camp Ellis.
We know what must be done to prevent such a calamity. Studies undertaken at the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicate that an offshore breakwater and a spur coming off the jetty are likely to be needed to protect Camp Ellis from further erosion and destruction of property.
The Camp Ellis jetty was built by the federal government at a time when the erosional impacts of shoreline structures were largely unknown. This jetty has served the navigational needs of our nation well over its 100-plus years of existence. It is now time for the federal government to make good on its obligation to help those people who have been harmed by this structure. With the final passage of the Water Resources Development Act, we will have authorized the funds necessary to act upon the best available science and to fully protect the residents of Camp Ellis.
Thank you Mr. President.