CHARLOTTE--President Bush's proposed budget would leave beach towns in a lurch to continue their shoreline renourishment projects.

In its budget proposal given to Congress last week, the Bush administration wants local governments to pay for upkeep of these projects, after the federal government pays most of the upfront costs.

The federal government now pays 65 percent of the costs of renourishment projects, in which sand is dredged from the ocean or hauled in to a beach to counter the effects of coastal erosion.

In South Carolina, the city of Myrtle Beach spent $4 million on its last shoreline renourishment in 1997.

The federal government paid the rest of the $12.4 million tab.

Bush's budget maintains the federal-local split for initial beach nourishment, but it drops federal dollars for the expensive upkeep.

The policy change would apply even to communities that already have federal approval for long-term projects.

Supporters of renourishment say the projects are needed to protect beaches, a critical component of the coastal economy.