Posted on July 14, 2020
The 83 miles of shoreline along the south shore of Long Island, NY, between Fire Island Inlet and Montauk Point, has experienced serious erosion over the years, destroying resident homes. As a result of the 1938 hurricane, 45 lives were lost, 265 homes destroyed, eleven new inlets were formed, including the Shinnecock Inlet, and 20 square miles of the mainland were flooded. Under current conditions this would result in damages over $70,000,000.00.
Study Area
The Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point study area generally extends from Fire Island Inlet easterly to Montauk Point along the Atlantic Coast of Suffolk County, spanning a distance of approximately 83 miles, comprising about 70 percent of the total ocean frontage of Long Island. Fire Island Inlet is located about 50 miles by water east of the Battery, New York City.
The study area considers reduction of storm damages to existing development along the shorelines of Great South Bay, Moriches Bay, and Shinnecock Bay, as well as existing development along the ocean coastline. As such, the study area encompasses the shorefront area, barrier islands, inlets, bay areas, mainland areas and suitable borrow areas, which could provide material for any beach restoration, along the south shore of Long Island from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point.
In order to ensure that the study area thoroughly investigates the potential positive and negative impacts associated with project alternatives the study area includes existing development on the mainland up to Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway and also considers the shorefront area, extending westward of Fire Island Inlet a distance of approximately 2 miles.
For more information please read the Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point Project Fact Sheet.
**Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point Project**
Study Reports
Fire Island to Montauk Point Reformulation Study
The shoreline along the south shore of Long Island, NY between Fire Island Inlet and Montauk Point has a long history of damages due to beach erosion and coastal storms, notably from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. This report is considered a General Reevaluation Report (GRR) because there is an existing, authorized project for the area, formulated in the 1950s, that was partially constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, based upon the 1960 authorization. A Reformulation effort to revisit the authorized plan and identify a long-term solution to manage the risk of coastal storm damages was initiated in 1980, subsequently suspended, and then resumed in 1994. A Final Environmental Impact Statement and GRR was drafted in 2020, and is currently under review by the heads of federal agencies and the governor of the State of New York. Upon receipt of their comments, the Report of the Chief of Engineers will be finalized and submitted to the Secretary of the Army for transmittal to Congress. The recommended plan includes sand bypassing and dredging, renourishment, breach response plans, mainland nonstructural measures, removal of Ocean Beach groins, and coastal process features for 12 barrier island and two mainland locations.
Study Area
The study area extends along 83 miles of shoreline from Fire Island Inlet east to Montauk Point along the Atlantic Coast of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. It includes the barrier island chains from Fire Island Inlet to Shinnecock Inlet, a shorefront area east of Shinnecock Bay to Montauk Point, and adjacent back-bay areas along Great South, Moriches, and Shinnecock Bays. The study area includes portions of the Towns of Babylon, Islip, Brookhaven, Southampton and Easthampton, as well as 12 incorporated Villages, the entirety of the Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS), the Poospatuck Indian Reservation, and the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. Over 46,000 residential and non-residential structures (which includes critical infrastructures such as schools, hospitals, firehouses, and police stations) are located within the study area. More than 9,000 of these structures, and approximately 150,000 residents are within the coastal one percent floodplain. The study area is also a popular summer recreation area with a large seasonal influx of beachgoers and visitors, as well as businesses which support the year round and seasonal population of the area.
February 18, 2020 Update: Release of Final Report: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA Regulations 40 CFR 1506.10 (b) (2), the publication of a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register no. 20200043, for the Fire Island to Montauk Point, New York General Reevaluation Report and Environmental Impact Statement initiated a 30-day waiting period for the Federal decision to finalize a Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD on the proposed project/action will be issued no sooner than 30 days after the release of the FEIS.
The documents available here are currently under review by the heads of federal agencies and the governor of the State of New York. Upon receipt of their comments, the Report of the Chief of Engineers will be finalized and submitted to the Secretary of the Army for transmittal to Congress.
Study Reports
Final General Reevaluation Report
Appendix A1: Baseline Conditions: Storm Surge Modeling and Stage Frequency Generation
Appendix A2: Storm-Induced Beach Erosion Response-Frequency Relationships
Appendix A3: Tidal Inlet Investigations
Appendix A4: Numerical Modeling of Old Inlet Breach Opening
Appendix A5: Triggers for Proactive Breach Response
Appendix B: Borrow Area Investigations
Appendix G: Public Access Plan
Appendix I: Coastal Process Features
Appendix J: Monitoring and Adaptive Management Plan
Appendix K: OMRR&R Requirements
Appendix L: Pertinent Correspondence
Appendix M: Nonstructural Implementation Plan
Final Environmental Impact Statement
Appendix B: Endangered Species Act Compliance
Appendix C: Lists of Wildlife Species Known or Likely to Occur in Study Area
Appendix D: Essential Fish Habitat Assessment
Appendix E: Programmatic Agreement
Appendix G: Coastal Zone Management and Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs
Appendix H: Background and Approach to Environmental Analysis
Appendix I: Borrow Area Reports and Project Plans
Appendix J: Fish and Wildlife Coordination Report
Appendix K: Clean Air Act Conformity
Appendix L: Pertinent Correspondence
Appendix M: Environmental Compliance
Appendix N: Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines Evaluation
Appendix O: Coastal Barriers Resources Act Compliance
Appendix P: Public Comments and Responses
I. Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point Draft Hurricane Sandy General Reevaluation Report (HSGRR)
Draft HSGRR Appendices
HSGRR Appendix A – Engineering Appendix
HSGRR Sub- Appendix A1 – Storm Surge Modeling and Stage-Frequency Relationships
HSGRR Sub-Appendix A2 – Storm Induced Beach Erosion Response Frequency Relationships
HSGRR Sub-Appendix A-3 – Tidal Inlet Investigations
HSGRR Sub-Appendix A-4 – Numerical Modeling of Breach Open at Old Inlet
HSGRR Appendix A1 – Plates Appendix
HSGRR Appendix B – Borrow Area Appendix
HSGRR Appendix C – Cost Appendix
HSGRR Appendix D – Benefits Appendix
HSGRR Appendix D1 – Recreation Benefits
HSGRR Appendix E – Plan Formulation Appendix
HSGRR Appendix F – Real Estate Plan
HSGRR Appendix G – Public Access Plan
HSGRR Appendix H – Land Use Appendix
HSGRR Appendix I – Monitoring Appendix
HSGRR Appendix J – OMRR&R Appendix
HSGRR Appendix K – Adaptive Management Plan
HSGRR Appendix L – Pertinent Correspondence
II. Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
Draft EIS Appendices
Appendix A – Mapped New York State Freshwater Wetlands on the Barrier Islands and Mainland of the Study Area
Appendix B – Endangered Species Act Compliance
Appendix C – Lists of Wildlife Species Known or Likely to Occur in Study Area
Appendix D – Essential Fish Habitat
Appendix E – Programmatic Agreement
Appendix F – List of Districts on the Study Area Mainland and Components Determined to be Potentially Eligible for Listing on the NRHP
Appendix G – Coastal Zone Management and Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs
Appendix H – Background and Approach to Environmental Analysis
Appendix I – Merged Breach Response Protocols
Appendix J – Land and Development Management
Appendix K – FIMP Coastal Process Features
Appendix L – Borrow Area Reports and Project Plans
Appendix M – Draft Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report
Appendix N – Emissions Estimates
Appendix O – Pertinent Correspondence
Appendix P – Environmental Compliance
Appendix Q – 404(b) Evaluation
Source: nan.usace.army.mil
