More Protection for the Montauk Lighthouse?

Public comments must be submitted by Friday to the Army Corps of Engineers on a draft environmental assessment of its long-planned project at Montauk Point, which would add boulders to an existing revetment in an effort to protect the Montauk Lighthouse, a National Historic Landmark, from encroaching erosion.

An estimated $14.6 million federal project was originally authorized in 2006 and was funded by Congress in a post-Hurricane Sandy disaster relief act. The plan was re-evaluated after Sandy and revised.

It now calls for the addition of 15-ton boulders on top of the existing revetment along 840 feet of shore, in order, according to an Army Corps document, to provide "protection for the most vulnerable portion of the bluff that would directly endanger the lighthouse complex should it fail."

The lighthouse and surrounding land belong to the Montauk Historical Society, which took ownership from the Coast Guard in 1996.

Details about the plan can be found at online.

Comments may be sent to Robert Smith, Project Biologist

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, Attention CENAN-PL-E

26 Federal Plaza, Rm. 2131, New York, NY 10278

Or emailed to [email protected].