12M for Dauphin Island's East End

FEMA officials are headed to Dauphin Island on Friday to talk about a new berm.

The 3.6 million dollar wall of sand washed away last month by Hurricane Gustav. The berm was 10 feet high and protected homes on the island's West end. FEMA and island officials are meeting to discuss the possibility of federal money paying for a new one.

Talk of rebuilding the berm comes after local leaders got together to talk about helping out the East end of the island.

Mayor Jeff Collier says the East end is the heart of his city and needs to be protected too. He has a team of experts looking into the erosion problems. Instead of a berm, erosion experts believe extending the beach... in other words.. building more beach would be a long-term fix. The city needs more than 1-million for another study on the project. The entire price tag could top 12-million.

Now, the challenge is finding the money to get the project rolling! State Representative Spencer Collier says the state doesn't have the money to help and federal help could be years away.