Five big-ticket infrastructure and school projects in Pacific County are now in a holding pattern over Washington, D.C., as roughly $10 million in congressional community project funding hangs in the balance. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has bundled the local wish list into her latest round of earmark requests, covering water, sewer, power and public safety needs, from a floating intake at Ilwaco’s Indian Creek reservoir to an 11-block sewer main replacement in Long Beach. Local officials and business advocates say the federal cash would chip away at long-deferred maintenance and shore up basic services in small coastal towns where budgets and populations are stretched thin.
Five Local Requests and Their Price Tags
In a March 26 disclosure, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez listed five Pacific County entries: a $1,811,634 floating intake and active circulation upgrade for the City of Ilwaco’s reservoir; a $3,200,000 Oregon Ave N sewer-main replacement in Long Beach; a $3,200,000 career and technical education facility for Raymond School District; a $1,386,000 overhead-to-underground conversion along Joe Johns Road for Pacific PUD; and a $628,919 fire engine/tanker for Pacific County Fire District No. 8. Together, those five requests total just over $10.2 million, according to Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
Ilwaco Upgrade Aims to Cut Treatment Bills
Ilwaco’s proposal centers on the Indian Creek reservoir, where the city wants to install a floating intake and active circulation system designed to pull cleaner water from optimal depths and cut down on algae growth and heavy-metal buildup. The idea is that better-quality source water could trim chemical treatment costs and reduce the need for emergency divers when things go sideways. Backers listed on the application include the Port of Ilwaco, the City of Long Beach and the Pacific County Economic Development Council. Pacific County Emergency Management director Scott McDougall told the Chinook Observer that “this opportunity to enhance the utility’s ability to provide uninterrupted service is of vital importance to our county.”
Schools, Sewer and Power Among Other Priorities
The Raymond School District’s $3.2 million career and technical education request would pay for a new skilled-trades facility intended to expand local workforce training options and help keep students in the county as they move into careers. In Long Beach, the $3.2 million Oregon Ave N project would replace an 11-block sewer main in an effort to reduce leaks and limit groundwater contamination. Pacific PUD’s $1,386,000 proposal targets Joe Johns Road, where the utility wants to bury 1.2 miles of three-phase power lines and add fiber along the corridor. All of those details were outlined by Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez's office.
How the Process Works
For now, the county’s wish list lives on paper. The requests have been posted publicly and will be weighed by the House Appropriations Committee as it assembles fiscal-year spending bills. Lawmakers can submit multiple Community Project Funding requests, but the committee historically approves only a slice of what gets pitched, according to the House Appropriations Committee. The return of earmarks has opened the door to billions in local spending nationwide this year, which also means tougher competition and a premium on visible community support, as reported by The Washington Post.
Next Steps and Local Stakes
While the applications creep through the appropriations pipeline, local leaders are in wait-and-see mode for committee votes and, eventually, action on the House floor. Backers argue that even partial awards could lower long-term utility costs, improve emergency response and expand training opportunities for students, outcomes they highlighted during the letter-writing push described in the disclosure documents. As the Chinook Observer notes, the final call on Pacific County’s projects will come as Congress finishes its spending bills and hammers out what survives in the FY27 package.
