CHINCOTEAGUE, VA - The Army Corps of Engineers included a $500,000 ask for the Chincoteague Inlet feasibility study in its FY27 Civil Works Budget request.
The study was authorized under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act in 2016, but delays have left it unfunded.
A Virginia Institute of Marine Science team was commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2019 to study the erosion on Chincoteague. The Army Corps did not accept the results of that study. However, VIMS’ findings show that the Chincoteague Inlet nearly doubled in width in 2002 and continues to change as waves constantly lap the shoreline.
Mayor Denise Bowden said she is cautiously optimistic that this budget request is a step towards finally taking action to protect from further land loss.
“It's also starting to affect the eastside a little bit, and it's just the velocity of water,” she said. “I don't know how much more plain or clear we can be that this has got to be done sooner rather than later."
Watermen and tour boat captains who make a living working out of the Curtis Merritt Harbor told WBOC they have seen the inlet change firsthand over the years.
"As you see the erosion on some of the small barrier islands around here ... and then right here around the harbor, you see the marsh eroding away a little bit,” tour boat captain Shane Burton said. “ It's definitely a topic of concern."
Virginia previously included a federal funding match for the study in its own budget, but removed it when that did not materialize. Mayor Bowden said she hopes to see the state’s backing return.
State Delegate for District 100, Robert Bloxom, representing the Eastern Shore, told WBOC he will continue to advocate for a match in Virginia’s FY27 budget. Virginia's budget must be finalized and passed by July 1.
