Posted on April 19, 2018
By Cailin Riley, 27east.com
Relief is coming for Moriches Inlet.
On Tuesday morning, U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin announced that his request for emergency dredging of the inlet had been approved, though an exact date for the work has not yet been nailed down.
In a release sent out on Tuesday, he noted that Colonel Thomas Asbery, the New York District commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, received the needed emergency declaration from Brigadier General William Graham of the Army Corps’ North Atlantic Division, granting Mr. Zeldin’s request to perform emergency dredging of the inlet, which was last dredged in 2012 in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
The declaration will initiate and expedite the process of coordinating funding and permits so dredging vessels can begin working on the inlet as soon as possible.
Mr. Zeldin explained this week that the declaration will help expedite a process that requires approval and input from several agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The congressman added that he hoped the project could be finished some time around Memorial Day, which marks the start of the busy summer season, but said he still could not provide an exact timeline. “I’m not aware of any issues at this point preventing it from being done as soon as possible,” he added.
The expedited coordination is needed to comply with several federal and state laws, as well as help identify suitable placement for the estimated 300,000 cubic yards of sand currently clogging the inlet.
Mr. Zeldin made a hard push in mid-March to help secure the declaration. In a “tele town hall” meeting on March 14, fisherman Joe Tangel, who runs King Cod Fishing Charters in and out of Moriches Inlet, called in and spoke about the difficulty in making it through the inlet, pointing out that it could be detrimental to business for himself and others for whom the waterway is their livelihood, and presents a safety concern for anyone boating in the area.
The following day, Mr. Zeldin met with Colonel Asbery in a previously scheduled meeting and brought up the concerns of Mr. Tangel and others he’d been hearing from.
The project got an unintended assist from Mother Nature as well: Mr. Zeldin said that the four consecutive nor’easters late in the season likely “pushed it over in the finish line” in terms of securing the declaration. When Mr. Zeldin and Mr. Asbery met on March 15, damage from three nor’easters had made the situation even worse, and a fourth was still on the way.
Mr. Zeldin was able to get a firsthand look at the situation last month, when Mr. Tangel took him on a tour through the inlet on his boat.
“The approval of this request and the continued efforts to bring about an emergency dredge of Moriches Inlet is great news for our coastal economy, commercial and recreational fisherman and all those whose livelihoods rely on the vitality of our communities’ waterways,” Mr. Zeldin was quoted as saying in the release.
Mr. Tangel hailed the congressman’s efforts in Tuesday’s press release. “I just want to thank Congressman Zeldin for his efforts in coordinating the emergency dredging project in Moriches Inlet, and bay,” he said. “It is a great relief for boaters and fishermen in the area to know that something will finally be done to ensure our safety and economic viability.”
Source: 27east.com
