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Town Hall meeting called to discuss dredge funding

Posted Oct 18, 2011 by Christian M. Wade

Updated Oct 18, 2011 at 09:02 PM

A town hall meeting will be next Monday to discuss a recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to cut federal funding for a project to dredge miles of silt-clogged canals along Old Tampa Bay.

Tampa officials had been counting on the $1.3 million federal grant – which was awarded more than five years ago – to help pay for dredging a 20-feet-wide by 3- to 5-feet-deep channel down a dozen private canals in the Sunset Park subdivision.

But in April, Congress cut $140 million in funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s State and Tribal Assistance program, and the federal agency informed the city last week that it would be unable to provide grant funding for the dredging project.

See story here.

Members of the Sunset Park neighborhood say they want answers about why the funding was cut and what options the city has for funding the project.

Tampa officials insist that the project isn’t dead, saying they have asked the EPA to reconsider its decision and are looking at alternative funding sources.

Federal, state and city representatives are expected to attend the town hall meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Jan Platt Library in South Tampa.