State DEC urges Army Corps to repair Fire Island storm damage

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is urging the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to repair east end beaches on Fire Island that were damaged by recent storms. 

A letter recently sent to the USACE from Kenneth Kosinski, director of the DEC’s Bureau of Flood Protection and Dam Safety, warned of catastrophic damage to Fire Island if immediate action isn’t taken. The USACE had objected to commencing an emergency repair of the beaches because Hurricane Lee and Tropical Storm Ophelia did not meet its criteria of an extraordinary storm. The Army Corps also determined that because Lee and Ophelia were assessed as one- to four-year storm events that they did not qualify. 

The Army Corps is already set to begin work on the Fire Island’s west end this month, about 100 yards away from the work needed in the eastern communities, according to the DEC. 

U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and other elected leaders have joined in urging the Corps to make emergency repairs to the beaches from Seaview to Davis Park, including the Fire Island Pines. An online petition launched by community leaders Henry Robin, president of the Fire Island Pines Property Owner’s Association and Tom Ruskin, president of the Seaview Association has collected more than 10,000 signatures, according to a statement from advocates for the repairs. 

“We’ve received overwhelming community support to save Fire Island’s beaches and are grateful for this letter, with its irrefutable data reinforcing our requests and others for immediate assistance from USACE,” Ruskin said in the statement. 

Advocates for the beach repairs say extreme weather caused significant damage to three USACE Coastal Storm Risk Management Projects, including Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Inlet, west of Shinnecock Inlet, Fire Island Inlet and Shores Westerly. 

Fire departments and other public safety organizations on Fire Island have warned that their vehicles are now impassable in several communities, which would put lives at risk in the event of fires and other emergencies, according to the statement. 

The DEC letter said that given the extensive damage the beaches sustained either clearly qualifies as an extraordinary event “or these projects were deficiently designed and implemented by USACE” because a lesser storm could not have caused such extensive damage. It concluded that “either way, USACE should meet its responsibilities” by stepping in to provide emergency beach repairs.