CHARLESTON, S.C. - As Edisto Island's edges slowly wash away, support is eroding for a project to renourish one of the state's public beaches.

State senators have stripped $5 million for the project that had been put in the state budget by House members, and some lawmakers say getting the money back will tough.

Edisto Island beaches, which in some places have been worn down to a narrow strip of sand, are badly in need of renourishment, said Bill Eiser, staff oceanographer with the state's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.

"Of all the places the state has spent money for beach renourishment, I can't think of one in worse shape than Edisto is in right now," he said.

In March, Eiser's office declared Edisto the state's top priority for beach rebuilding. About the same time, the state House passed a budget with $5 million earmarked for rebuilding Edisto Beach.

But the Senate Finance Committee stripped the money out of the budget, in part because House members suggested that the state dedicate some of the accommodations tax to beach projects every year.

Committee members say there are more pressing needs in putting together the first budget in several years that doesn't cut state agencies' funding.

"We want to build up our tourism industry; it's our golden egg," said Sen. J. Yancey McGill, D-Kingstree. "But in the last five years, we've been hit hard. We don't have enough money to go around."

McGill said using accommodations tax money is not an option because small towns depend on it for ongoing projects.

But other lawmakers say the state needs to protect one of the most crucial parts its $14 billion tourism industry.

"It is essential we protect the beaches of South Carolina. They are important to this state's economy," said state Rep. Bill Bowers, D-Hampton. "If we don't do something, the ocean may be back up here at the Statehouse."

Bowers and other House members are ready to fight to have the money restored when House and Senate members sit down to iron out their differences in the budget. While some Lowcountry lawmakers say there is support to put the money back, other senators say it is unlikely Edisto will see any money this year.

State Rep. Bobby Harrell, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said it's important for the Legislature to recognize the importance of beaches and allocate funds accordingly.

"The day a family decides to vacation in Daytona instead of a South Carolina beach is the day they stop vacationing here," Harrell, R-Charleston, said.

State Sen. Clementa Pinckney says tourism, while important, shouldn't be the only factor that plays into the decision to save Edisto Beach. It is the most public beach access there is on the southern third of the state's coast.

"It's important to everyone in the Lowcountry, and everyone in the state," Pinckney, D-Ridgeland, said.