DATE: Saturday, October 18, 1997            TAG: 9710180321

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN MURPHY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   67 lines

FUNDS FOR BEACH EROSION CONTROL SURVIVE VETO CLINTON USES LINE-ITEM POWER TO DERAIL $19 MILLION IN ENERGY AND WATER PROJECTS.

President Clinton on Friday used his line-item veto power to kill eight energy and water projects totaling $19 million.

But Beach officials breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that Clinton's pen had spared $13 million earmarked for the city's erosion control and hurricane protection project at the Oceanfront.

The money, approved as part of the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, will be used to build pump stations and outfalls at 16th and 42nd streets as part of the city's $103 million project to protect the Beach from coastal storm damage.

The appropriation is the largest amount of money to date the city has received for the ongoing project. It also represents a firm commitment to the future of the city's efforts to contain storm damage, city officials said.

``This is great news. We've got $29 million from the federal government now. They're not going to walk away from that. They've made a commitment to this project,'' said Robert Matthias, assistant to the city manager.

``We are elated that the president saw the wisdom in allowing this project to continue,'' Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said in a prepared statement. ``This is certainly a testament to the effectiveness of our congressional delegation who had this money added to the budget.''

That delegation included U.S. Rep. Owen B. Pickett, Sen. John W. Warner and Sen. Charles S. Robb.

``They worked hard, writing letters to the president and making phone calls,'' Matthias said.

The erosion control and hurricane protection plan was developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Beach and covers the shoreline between Rudee Inlet and 89th Street. It includes a new seawall from Rudee Inlet to 58th Street, a wider and stronger Boardwalk extending from Rudee Inlet to 40th Street, storm-water drainage, dune protection and periodic beach nourishment for 50 years.

The city and federal government are splitting the cost of the project. The city has allocated $36 million in city funds. The federal government will pay $67 million. Beach nourishment will occur every three years at an annual cost of $2 million to the city and $3.7 million to the federal government.

The $19 million in projects Clinton cut from the bill on Friday included a dredging project in Mississippi, home state of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. It was the first time Clinton has used the power against a project in the home territory of a top congressional Republican leader.

Also vetoed were work on Lake George in Hobart, Ind., worth $3.5 million, which was backed by Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind.; work on the Chena River in Fairbanks, Alaska, home state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, a Republican; dredging on the Allegheny River in Kittaning, Pa., pushed by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.; and work on the Neabsco Creek in Virginia.

The vetoes came as the Justice Department says it will defend the line-item veto law against a legal challenge from New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The National Treasury Employees Union also is challenging the law because Clinton vetoed a provision affecting federal workers' retirement.

More suits could follow now that Clinton has vetoed 71 items in three months.

Clinton is the first president to use the line-item veto. The law empowers him to strike specific projects and programs from spending bills and certain tax bills while allowing the rest of the bill to stand.

Critics claim a law may only be vetoed in its entirety and that the 1996 act is unconstitutional. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this report. KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH OCEANFRONT EROSION FUNDING

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