After repeated assurances that downtown Montauk would be the first component of the long-awaited Fire Island to Montauk Point Reformulation Project, East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said last week that the Army Corps of Engineers had announced that the town is not slated to see renourishment of the ocean beach this fall, when the project is scheduled to begin, but rather in 2023.
The project provides for hurricane protection and beach erosion control along five reaches of the South Shore of Long Island between the Fire Island Inlet and Montauk Point, a distance of approximately 83 miles.
James D'Ambrosio, an Army Corps spokesman, said in an email on Tuesday that the first contract, expected to be awarded this summer, will be Fire Island Inlet dredging with sand placement at Gilgo Beach and Robert Moses State Park. "This is because real estate is already available for this area and inlet dredging employs different equipment and capabilities," he said. The downtown Montauk sand placement has to be combined with work in the Tiana Beach area of Hampton Bays because the Army Corps "could not economically justify mobilizing a separate dredge" costing several million dollars. The Tiana Beach area, he said, "requires substantial real estate acquisition that will take more time before we can proceed with advertising and awarding a contract."
In an Army Corps presentation on March 1, it was revealed that the town is now slated for the project's third contract period, Mr. Van Scoyoc said at the town board's March 2 meeting, postponing to 2023 the renourishment of the ocean beach where many of the town's motels and resorts are vulnerable to extreme weather and sea level rise.
The Army Corps "has promised for years that Montauk would be top priority and first" when components of the project are contracted, Mr. Van Scoyoc said. That assurance was reiterated multiple times, he said after the meeting.
Because of those assurances, Mr. Van Scoyoc said, the town had agreed to a one-time interim step in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in 2012: the construction of a reinforced dune with geotextile bags. That controversial plan was implemented in 2015, with the bags routinely exposed by winter storms. The town and county are jointly responsible for annual sand replenishment prior to the summer season, at a cost averaging more than $1 million a year, and will remain so until the federal project is completed.
The Army Corps's reshuffling of the schedule was "extremely disappointing, given the fact that we agreed to an emergency stabilization project many years ago with the promise that FIMP would be close on the heels," the supervisor said. "It hasn't been close on the heels. The cost estimates have grossly exceeded those presented when we agreed to the emergency stabilization project. . . . To push it off for at least three more seasons is unconscionable, especially given the promises to date."
"I don't think this is the final decision, and we intend to more than strongly voice our opinion about it," Mr. Van Scoyoc said after the March 2 meeting. One need look no further than the beach in Montauk, he said, "to see the downtown hotels are on the precipice of the ocean and see the [geotextile] bags exposed. . . . Our summer economy is dependent on having that beach restored by May 15 every year. It was well understood that this wasn't something we were able to sustain more than a short period of time."
At the town board's work session on Tuesday, he said that he has been in discussions with Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., State Senator Anthony Palumbo, Suffolk Legislator Bridget Fleming, and Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, and would contact Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, Representative Lee Zeldin, and Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to ensure all "are aware of our situation and our need to make sure that we're back in first position, as we were promised."
Mr. D'Ambrosio added that the Corps "will explore other possibilitiesÊthat might allow work at downtown Montauk to be further expedited." Work there will still happen early in the project, he said. "We have provided time for the sponsor" — the town — "to acquire additional real estate needed for downtown Montauk, since these requirements take longer than other areas of FIMP. The Army Corps of Engineers will continue working closely with the Town of East Hampton and all local, state, and federal partners to reduce flood risk for many areas of Long Island."
