Letter to the Hon. Todd Semonite, U.S. Army Corps Lt. General - Schumer reveals: Army Corps of engineers has special powers to react to emergencies like one now underway in Suffolk from recent storms that washed away essential barriers; senator calls on Corps to step in as local communities fear risk of flooding as more storms loom

Letter

Dear Lieutenant General Semonite:

I write to you with an urgent matter regarding storm damage done to two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) projects in Suffolk County, New York and request that USACE use their authority under Public Law (PL) 84-99 to provide emergency assistance to the county. The projects that sustained damage are the West of Shinnecock Inlet (WOSI) Interim Storm Damage Reduction Project and the Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Fire Island (FIMI) Stabilization Project. The county and the state have requested emergency assistance from USACE on these projects which were substantially damaged.

Two separate storms between October 10 and October 17 of this year caused significant losses of sand along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. The West of Shinnecock Inlet beach has experienced a long history of erosion and the sub-tropical storm of October 10 and October 11 caused severe additional erosion at WOSI and FIMI. The nor'easter of October 17 further intensified the damage at these project sites. The erosion to the protective dunes and berms is significant--in some portions multiple feet--and allowed for initial flooding into beach parking lots and access roads. The WOSI and FIMI projects are critical to protecting these vulnerable communities from storm events. The damage at these sites has impacted communities of Southampton, Brookhaven, Seaview, Fair Harbor, Dunewood, Atlantique and Islip, and in the Villages of Ocean Beach and Saltaire, and Corneille Estates.

Shortly after these storm events, Suffolk County and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation initiated temporary emergency repairs to these projects but are seeking assistance from USACE to provide robust, more permanent restoration. Once again, I request that you use your authority to coordinate with state and local officials to address this pressing issue with all due haste.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Source