As the representative of Nassau County’s southern communities most affected by Hurricane Sandy, I have written to the Obama Administration calling for 100 percent federal funding of a shore reinforcement project that could affect millions of Long Island residents.
“The community of Long Beach, New York and its surrounding communities are on borrowed time,” I wrote in a letter to Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director for Management Jeffrey D. Zients on Friday.
Hurricane Sandy damaged and eroded many of the coastal areas of the south shore of Long Island and, with the support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), we have the ability to dramatically reduce the impact of future hurricanes on Long Island.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to soon announce a list of infrastructure projects in areas affected by Superstorm Sandy recommended to receive full federal funding through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-2). Storm and flood mitigation upgrades to the south shore of Nassau County at Long Beach, the details of which are still being discussed, had been approved for 65 percent federal funding but may receive 100 percent, if the push by myself and her colleagues is successful.
Potential elements of the Long Beach Army Corps project include reinforced dykes, a strengthened groin field, a dune system and a sand berm, all of which could significantly reduce the impact of storms for not just Long Beach residents but many more Nassau and even Suffolk County residents.
The significance of the hazard mitigation efforts in Long Beach and along the south shore impact not only the communities nearby, but also the approximately 3 million residents of Long Island that depend on the protection provided by the barrier islands.
Carolyn McCarthy is the representative of New York’s Fourth Congressional District. She was first elected in 1996.
