Government To Hold Public Hearings On Storm Surge Protection

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Public hearings have been scheduled regarding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers six conceptual plans for storm surge protections in New York Harbor. The corps released its Interim Report in February outlining alternatives including a 5-mile-wide gate crossing open water from Sandy Hook to Breezy Point. That plan alone is estimated to cost more than $36 billion and take about 25 years to complete.

Other alternatives include a set of five storm surge barriers, a different set of eight storm barriers, floodwalls along the coast and taking no action at all.

The plans are a reaction to destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Hurricane Sandy damaged or destroyed at least 650,000 houses and left about 8.5 million customers without power during and after the storm.

Twenty-four states were impacted by the storm, with preliminary estimates from the event exceeding $50 billion in damages, the corps said.

As a result of the storm, 48 people lost their lives in New York and 12 in New Jersey.

Within the nine regions of the study area, more than 100 major sensitive and important ecological areas have been identified. The area also contains six major superfund sites, with many more state-level (New York and New Jersey) contaminated sites that will need to be considered before any storm surge barrier is put into place.

The area being studied goes from coastal areas of New Jersey and New York up the Hudson River beyond Albany.

While officials of Riverkeeper said they were glad the corps responded to the public's demand for more information and transparency, they said they had hoped the corps would focus on solutions that protect against both storm surge and sea level rise.

"Unfortunately, it did not," said John Lipscomb, Riverkeeper boat caption and vice president of advocacy.

He said barriers as the corps described in the report could effectively choke off life in the Hudson River and impede the migration of fish and tidal flow.

"They are not the answer to coastal flooding," Lipscomb said.

The schedule for public hearing is as follows:

• Tuesday, March 12, 5-7pm, Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave., White Plains, NY
• Wednesday, March 13, 5:30-7:30pm, South Shore Educational Complex, 6565 Flatlands Ave., Brooklyn, NY
• Tuesday, March 19, 5-7pm, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY
• Wednesday, March 27, 5-7pm, Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church St., Middletown, NJ
• Wednesday, April 3, 5-7pm, Hudson Valley Community Center, 110 Grand Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY
• Tuesday, April 9, 5-7pm, Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY
• Thursday, April 11, 5-7pm, Meadowlands Environment Center, 2 DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst, NJ
• Wednesday, April 17, 5-7pm, Hostos Community College, D Building/Savoy Manor Building, 120 East 149th St., 2nd Floor, Bronx, NY

For more information, check out the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' website on the report.

You can read the Interim Report here.

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