Long Beach, NY - February 14th, 2014 - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, today announced the details of the major, $180M federally-funded dune and groin protection system for Long Beach, Long Island. Superstorm Sandy devastated the Island, in large part because a protection system had never been built. Following the storm, Schumer secured $180 million in federal funds for the Sandy relief bill to install a system of dunes and groins to protect Long Beach from future storms. However, despite the availability of funds, the Office Of Management and Budget (OMB) tried to require that the City of Long Beach and New York State pay 35% of the project cost, which likely would have prevented the dunes and groins from ever being built.
Schumer then successfully convinced OMB that such a high local cost share was not Congress’ intent, and that they should pick up the entire tab, ensuring no cost to local taxpayers. Schumer today released the details of the project and a tentativetimeline.
“With funding secured and details laid out, we are on the verge of finally making a project, a decade in the making, a reality, said Schumer. “This project, fully funded by the federal government, will ultimately provide massive protections for Long Beach residents and businesses, and should allow them to sleep a bit better at night knowing that when the next Sandy comes, they will be better protected. While I would have preferred to get shovels in the ground sooner, a project of this magnitude and complexity took the Army Corps and other federal agencies longer than expected to design and implement.”
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano stated, "I commend Senator Schumer for working with Nassau County, Hempstead Town and the City of Long Beach to strengthen our shoreline and protect local neighborhoods against future storms."
“We fought hard for the Long Beach Island project for more than two decades and one of the constant partners through the fight has been Senator Schumer,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said. “We thank Senator Schumer for his continued support and leadership. This puts us one step closer to putting a ‘shovel in the sand,’ hardening our coastline and protecting homes and infrastructure on the barrier island.”
The full details, as provided by the Army Corps of Engineers, are below:
Project description
The authorized project, including changes developed for this Hurricane Sandy Limited Reevaluation Report (HSLRR), provides a beach berm, dune and groin system to reduce the potential for storm damage along approximately 35,000 linear feet (lf) of shoreline along the barrier island of Long Beach, New York.
Beach fill
- Will be used to construct the Berm and Dune
- Volume of Initial Fill 4,720,000 cubic yards (cy)
Interval of Renourishment:
- Fill every 5 years for 50 years, subject to USACE monitoring
Groins
- Rehabilitation of 15 existing groins in the City of Long Beach
- Rehabilitation of 2 existing groins in the Town of Hempstead (Point Lookout)
- Rehabilitation and extension (100 ft) of the terminal groin in the Town of Hempstead (Point Lookout)
- Four new groins fronting the Town Park in the Town of Hempstead (construction of 2 additional groins deferred based on monitoring and determination of future needs)
Economics
- Initial Project First Cost $ 177,876,000 (at 100% Federal Cost)
- Benefit to Cost Ratio 2.0
Timeline
- If all parties are able to agree on the scope of the project; the HSLRR is approved; and the Project Partnership Agreement is signed in a timely manner, by this summer, the ACOE is expected to award the first contract (groin work only) in the Fall of Calendar Year 2014.
- Contract 2 (more groin work) would be awarded in early 2015.
- Contract 3 (Sand) would be awarded sometime in early 2016. We need the groins (majority of them) in place before the sand.