More than $8 million in funding to help stabilize and repair the Santa Maria River Levee is included in the Fiscal Year 2009 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill, according to a statement released today by Rep. Lois Capps.

The bill is expected to be considered by the full House later this summer, officials said.

“This is remarkable progress in our ongoing effort to repair the Santa Maria River Levee and protect the surrounding communities,” said Capps, D-Santa Barbara, in a written statement.

The $8.5 million levee funding, was included as part of the House Appropriations Committee’s consideration of the bill, and was a critical first step, officials said.

Local officials have been working for years to get the federal government to recognize deterioration of the levee, and pay for repairs.

Money has already been earmarked for the Army Corps of Engineers to study how best to fix the levee.

The certification on the levee was officially dropped last year, when the levee appeared on a list of flood barriers nationwide at risk of failure.

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At the same time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is remapping the Santa Maria Valley flood plain. Without levee certification, much of the city may be required to purchase flood insurance.