Letter to Lt. Colonel Toth, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - With Water Levels on The Rise and Memories of Devastating 2017 Lake Ontario Flooding Front and Center, Schumer Calls on Army Corps to Prepare to Activate Emergency Operations Center & Provide Any and All Support to Mitigate Potential Damage
Letter
Dear Lt. Col. Toth,
I write to request the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Buffalo District stand ready to use its authority under Public Law 84-99 Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies to activate its Emergency Operation Center and assist Lake Ontario communities in the event that Lake Ontario water levels rise to flood levels.
According to the USACE April 19, 2019 Weekly Great Lakes Water Level Update, Lake Ontario is 6 inches higher than one month ago and over the next 30 days, all of the Great Lakes' water levels are projected to continue their upward seasonal rise with Lake Ontario forecast to rise 11 inches. Lake Ontario is now at 246.93 ft, slightly below the 247.60 ft it reached at this time in 2017, the year when the Lake reached as high as 248.6 by June causing severe flooding across the Lake Ontario coastline.
In 2017 to help communities respond to the flooding I wrote to request the USACE to mobilize and provide flood protection assistance. As a result of my request, the USACE Buffalo District declared a Declaration of Emergency on May 3, 2017 allowing the USACE to activate its Emergency Operations Center to (EOC) to assist in the flood fighting efforts by deploying technical assistance teams to impacted towns to provide guidance and aid in conducting and constructing emergency flood control measures, disseminating over 170,000 sandbags, conducting flood reconnaissance, and staffing its EOC per its P.L. 84-99 Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies authority.
With the entire Great Lakes basin receiving above average precipitation (111%) over the past week and with it forecast to receive more precipitation in the coming days particularly in Lake Erie and Ontario, flood risk conditions could change quickly requiring a quick response. As such as I appreciate your consideration of my request to stand ready to mobilize to join in any flood fighting response in the event that Lake Ontario water levels rise to flood levels.
Sincerely,
Source