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Mostly Cloudy City signs Army Corps agreement
Reaches pact with state that allows coastal protection work to begin
Three years after Hurricane Sandy, the city reached what it called a landmark agreement with the state that formally allows the Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with a long-awaited coastal protection project for Long Beach.
City officials fought for the project to move forward shortly after Sandy and called last week’s agreement the final hurdle for a plan that has been “30 years in the making” — and one that many say is long overdue to help protect Long Beach from future storms. Officials said work could begin early next year.
The corps and state had reached their own agreement earlier this month, paving the way for the city to enter into its partnership with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. That agreement allows the Army Corps to formally put together plans and specifications for the $180 million project and ultimately put it out to bid, officials said.
“We are at an extremely exciting time in the city’s history,” City Council President Len Torres said in a statement. “The Army Corps of Engineers project is something this City Council demanded, and we are thrilled to see this critically important, long-overdue project finally moving forward — as we continue rebuilding a stronger, smarter, and safer Long Beach.”
After Sandy decimated the Long Beach shoreline, the Army Corps project took on a sense of urgency, especially after the city rejected an earlier version of the plan in 2006 that many said would have provided some protection. The City Council voted unanimously in 2013 to partner with the state and move forward with the corps’ revised project — especially since it already received federal approval and didn’t require years of planning —which authorized the city to enter into a partnership agreement with the state to move forward with the project.
After Sandy, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said that the $60 billion federal Sandy aid package would provide millions of dollars for dozens of long-delayed projects to protect coastal communities. The Sandy Supplemental Package, he said, included full funding for Long Beach.
