El Nio turns crumbling California pier into climate battleground over what to save and who pays
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As a historic El Niño supercharges the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco experiences record high seasonal sea levels, the latest structural casualty of intense wave action is prompting Bay Area politicians to call for help from the state and federal governments.They want to rebuild a concrete pier shut down this month after officials deemed it unsafe because of cracking from decades of pounding surf and storms.As waves crashed against the derelict structure Monday morning, U.S.Rep.
Sam Liccardo (D-San José) held a news conference and asked the federal government to follow through on $50 million in climate resilience funding promised by the Biden administration but terminated by the Trump administration in 2025.The city of Pacifica had been on the shortlist for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, managed through FEMA.
California and 22 other states successfully sued to reinstate the program, but the funding has yet to be allocated.Liccardo also asked for nearly $1 million in promised funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a handrail project on the pier and an additional $9 million to protect coastal bluffs.Coastlines are already being buffeted and inundated by rising seas.With the closed-off Pacifica Municipal Pier in the background, local politicians and community members said they’re on the front lines and want to rebuild.“Pacifica is ground zero for coastal resilience,” said state Sen.
Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), as he asked Gov.Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency and “help us fix this pier and help this community recover again.”“This is very much a reminder that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he said, noting that previous attempts for funding went unheeded.
“We cannot wait until infrastructure fails before we invest in protecting it.”As climate change starts to become expens...