[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 19 (Thursday, February 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          MAKING CHANGES TO THE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES ACT

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                     HON. MARSHALL ``MARK'' SANFORD

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 1997

  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the intent of the 
Coastal Barrier Resources Act [CBRA] to remove Federal incentives for 
new construction on undeveloped coastal barriers. However, we should 
not deny Federal flood insurance to individuals who purchased property 
in developed communities. One example is Huntington Marsh, SC, which 
was erroneously included in the 1990 Coastal Barrier Improvement Act. 
For this reason, I am introducing a bill to make technical corrections 
to maps relating to the Coastal Barrier Resources System.
  In 1988, the Department of Interior issued a report to Congress 
recommending coastal property for inclusion in the Coastal Barrier 
Resources System. In a letter I received from Noreen Clough with the 
Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS], she stated: ``The service [FWS] did 
not recommend inclusion of Huntington Marsh area into the CBRS (report 
to Congress in 1988).'' There is no information indicating why 
Huntington Marsh or the surrounding area known as SC-03 was included in 
the final map approved by Congress.
  According to her letter, ``Neither the Department nor the service 
contacted individual landowners that were potentially affected.'' Had 
this community been allowed the opportunity to voice objection, they 
would not have been included in the act because the property qualified 
as a developed rather than an undeveloped area. Under the description 
of the bill, developed communities are exempt from inclusion in the 
act. A community is considered undeveloped if it contains less than one 
structure per 5 acres. In 1990, more than 10 homes were built on the 20 
acres located in the Huntington Marsh subdivision and many other 
property owners had plans for construction of homes on their property. 
This illustrates that the community would have been considered 
developed under the law.
  Adding or removing areas from a CBRA unit requires an act of 
Congress. This bill does not amend the CBRA, it merely redraws the 
boundary to omit the 20 acres of Huntington Marsh from the restrictions 
under the act. This change will only affect property on the 
southwestern edge of SC-03 along Highway 17 that was erroneously 
included in the first place. I urge your support for this legislation.

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