Reps talk federal funds for north coastal areas

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a news conference Friday in Del Mar to mark the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, highlighting some of the federal funding that has been allocated to coastal communities in North County.

The Biden administration has been emphasizing the ways that the bill is supposed to help communities achieve their climate goals.

“This community knows the reality of the climate crisis,” said Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, whose district extends south into coastal North County. “It is not theoretical for us. We see the eroding beaches, we see the collapsing bluffs, and we know how important it is to communities up and down this coast that we do all we can to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future.”

The eroding bluffs are the main reason why the San Diego Association of Governments is moving ahead with plans to move the train tracks to an inland tunnel through Del Mar. SANDAG is hosting an open house Aug. 30 at Del Mar City Hall to inform residents about how the plan is taking shape, such as the tunnel alignments under consideration to move the rail off the bluff.

A bluff collapse along Grandview Beach in Encinitas four years ago killed three family members: Encinitas residents Anne Davis Clave, 35, her mother Julie Davis, 65, as well as Davis’ sister (and Clave’s aunt) Elizabeth Charles, 62, of San Francisco.

“The climate crisis is real,” said Jeffries, who has represented New York in Congress for six terms, including the last year as House Minority Leader. “It’s upon us, and we cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand as a society.”

Del Mar Mayor Tracy Martinez mentioned $750,000 in federal funding that the city received for its Climate Resiliency and Access Improvement Project.

“This project will help protect critical natural resources here in the San Dieguito Lagoon, and it is an important part of the response to the effects of climate change,” she said.