STUART, Fla. — If you can afford it, coastal living has its advantages. The views are priceless, but living by the water can be costly if there is severe beach erosion putting your home at risk.
Now, a bill being proposed in Washington, D.C., could bring relief to those around the country whose properties are at risk of losing out to Mother Nature.
In February, WPTV told you about several homes in Jupiter Inlet Colony that were in danger from beach erosion. The issue called for emergency sand replacement.
William Tuttle has a house in Stuart along the Intracoastal Waterway. He's lived there for 44 years and is no stranger to erosion.
"The first seven or eight years that we were here and we experienced substantial erosion and just in this particular area right here, it was a shock to me," Tuttle said.
Tuttle explained that erosion has eaten away a chunk of his property "about 25 feet worth of depth."
Thankfully he hasn't lost his home, but others around the U.S. have not been so lucky.
H.R. 8637 is a bipartisan bill that was introduced in the U.S. House by Rep. Greg Murphy, (R-N.C.). According to published reports, it would allow coastal homeowners to receive up to $250,000 if their homes are at risk of collapsing.
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It’s something that locals like Tuttle believe could be a big help to coastal residents who didn't plan for erosion.
"For the people who have built recently, they should have known," Tuttle said. "For the people who are grandfathered in, that's probably not a bad idea."
The money would come from the National Flood Insurance Program and could be used toward demolition or relocation.
WPTV has reached out to Murphy to get clarification as to whether people on the Intracoastal Waterway would also qualify for financial assistance, but we're still waiting to hear back.
Tuttle wonders whether the measure will sink or swim.
"Anybody with an ounce of sense knows that the ocean is rising and so anything that goes to help out people right now — somewhere down the line Florida's going to have a lot more land underwater," Tuttle said.
