Funding for a study into how to include historically Black neighborhoods such as Berkley and Campostella in a huge Norfolk floodwall project could be included in an upcoming federal budget, according to a city official. But any congressional stopgap measure would not include money.

Doug Beaver, a deputy city manager, told Norfolk City Council members Tuesday that U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott’s office was attempting to include $500,000 in a budget bill to conduct exploratory work on including south Norfolk neighborhoods and Willoughby Spit in the floodwall project.

However, Beaver said the inclusion was dependent on a full budget being passed.

“If there’s a continuing resolution, this would not be a part of it,” Beaver said.

Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the federal government. According to The Associated Press, Republicans are considering a stopgap measure to keep the government open until next year while they work out differences with Democrats in several annual budget bills.

However, Democrats are set to oppose the stopgap measure if it doesn’t include several health care-related provisions, potentially shutting down the government.

Scott requested $500,000 for the study as part of 15 Community Project Funding requests for the fiscal year 2026 budget. Under guidelines from the House Committee on Appropriations, each representative can request funding for up to 15 projects every fiscal year, but only a few actually may be funded, according to Scott’s website.

Residents of Berkley, Campostella and Campostella Heights raised concerns in 2023 to city officials after learning their neighborhoods would not be included in Norfolk’s $2.6 billion Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, which also includes a planned network of levees, tide gates, pump stations and other mitigation efforts across the city.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which is designing the project, now plans to study how to include the neighborhoods. However, the study still has not been funded, according to its website.

Kim Sudderth, a Berkley resident and chair of the Norfolk Planning Commission, said she was disappointed the study still had not been funded. However, she said she was thankful Scott was still trying to include the funding in a budget bill, especially when President Donald Trump’s administration was cutting government funding of other projects.

“I expected that things would move slower than I wish they would, but obviously there’s still hope,” Sudderth said.

Construction on the first section of the first floodwall phase, which will construct storm barriers from Berkley Bridge to Campostella Bridge, is scheduled to begin in 2027, with site work beginning this fall.

Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/09/15/federal-funding-norfolk-floodwall-study/