Federal Judge Denies Injunction to Stop Montauk Beach Stabilization Project

A federal judge recently denied a request to stop the Army Corps of Engineers’ beach stabilization project in Montauk made by opponents of the project.

The decision to reject the preliminary injunction, requested by Defend H2O and nine other plaintiffs on Monday, was made by Judge Arthur D. Spatt of the United States District Court in Islip, according to a report in The East Hampton Star.

The project, which was started last month, involves burying a total of 14,000 large sandbags along 3,100 feet of Montauk beach to make artificial dunes over 15 feet high.

The project costs a total of $8.4 million and was started in order to protect downtown Montauk after Superstorm Sandy hit the area back in 2012.

The commencement of work on the project has led to numerous protests and arrests, however the East Hampton Town Board announced on Nov. 16 that the project will continue.

The local advocacy group, Defend H2O and members of the local Surfrider Foundation chapter recently filed the lawsuit against the Army Corps, the state and East Hampton Town, on claims that approving the project ”violated the town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan,” 27east reports.

Spat came to the conclusion based on the fact that the Army Corps found that the project would “not have a significant impact on the environment,” according to the report in The East Hampton Star.

“Based on this undisputed evidence, the court finds that construction on the project has gone far enough that for economic reasons, it would be impractical and wasteful to delay it any further,” Spatt wrote in his decision according to The East Hampton Star.

Spatt came to the same decision made by Magistrate Judge Anne Shields who found that the Army Corps had “thoroughly considered the environmental impacts of the project and properly applied state and local regulatory requirements,” according to 27east.

Despite the decision, a lawsuit filed by local environmental activists groups against the Army Corps will be allowed to continue.