March 28, 2024

Shoreline Restoration in Piney Point Awarded Federal Funds

STEAM program Lighthouse

A St. Mary’s County project will receive $1,937,953 in federal funding to enhance shoreline restoration and coastal resiliency at the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum and Historic Park, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer‘s office announced.

The funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund will be directed to the St. Mary’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation to combat ongoing shoreline erosion, flooding issues, and habitat deficiencies associated with the park to better protect this coastal community treasure.

“The funds announced [June 8] represent a victory for St. Mary’s County coastal communities as we work to make our state and nation more resilient in the face of a changing climate,” Congressman Hoyer (D-MD) said. “Maryland has been impacted by an increasing trend of extreme weather patterns, causing severe storms, flooding, and putting our local ecosystem at risk. With this funding, we can make our communities more durable to the impacts of a warming climate, recover faster from damages brought by climate change, and protect our precious wildlife. I was glad to work with my colleagues to grant this funding through the fiscal year 2021 disaster supplemental appropriations package and will continue to work alongside them to address the existential threat posted by climate change to our communities and economy in Maryland’s Fifth District.”

Piney Point Lighthouse and Museum is a six-acre passive marine park situated on a peninsula adjacent to the main stem of the Lower Potomac River where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Potomac River.

Along with its attraction as a cultural monument, it draws considerable resident and tourist traffic in the summer months. The banks and shoreline area of the Piney Point Museum have been eroding significantly, resulting in 20 feet of the beach having been lost. While the park does flood during large storms, both the lagoon side and the historic lighthouse side experience active erosion that threatens the nature of the park and the structures presiding on it.

With these federal funds, along with a local match of $132,730, St. Mary’s County will provide a resilient and functional shoreline to the community and construct approximately 1,100 feet of living shoreline and enhance 0.63 acres of tidal wetland to combat ongoing shoreline erosion issues and habitat deficiencies associated with the park.

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For more information about House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader member page.

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