By Dan Israeli
DEC Commissioner Alexander Grannis and U.S. Rep. Peter King announced that a contract for $7.6 million in state funds had been finalized, giving the Army Corps clearance to commence the project, which will involve removing 700,000 cubic yards of sand from the inlet and depositing it on the eroded Point Lookout beach.
The project has been a high priority for the residents of Point Lookout and local political leaders for two reasons: the danger the sand-choked inlet poses to boaters, and the increased threat of destruction of homes along the Point Lookout shore in the event of a major storm. Moving the sand from the inlet to the beach will potentially solve both problems.
Grannis, who voiced his support for the state contract with the Army Corps, was less enthusiastic about the project this summer, when its funding was still in limbo. In June, Grannis wrote a letter to Congress urging the federal government to pay for the project, arguing that the use of state funding would set a bad precedent. On July 9, however, Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed legislation that authorized the DEC to use state money for the dredging.
The involvement of the state makes the project unique, since maintaining navigation channels is usually the responsibility of the federal government. According to Lori O¹Connell, a spokeswoman for the DEC, precedent took a backseat to urgency, as far as Grannis was concerned, after federal funding for the project failed to materialize. ³This was a unique case in which something needed to be done,² O¹Connell said. ³Negotiations were taking too long, and someone needed to step up to bat. The Army Corps didn¹t think it was a federal matter, so the state took the lead.²
State legislators approved the $7.6 million for the project in the summer of 2006. The money is part of more than $20 million in state funds left over from the failed Barrier Island Storm Reduction Project, a plan to raise the barrier island¹s beaches that was voted down by the Long Beach City Council last year.
The funding was appropriated by state Sen. Dean Skelos and Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, who also co-authored the bill Spitzer signed in July. According to Tom Dunham, a spokesman for Skelos, the state has been waiting for federal funding for the project for over a decade, and the state contract will ensure that Point Lookout residents do not have to wait any longer.
³We¹ve worked on this project for an awful long time,² Dunham said. ³A lot of time and money was invested [in] passing legislation to get state funding secured. In the end, the important thing is getting this project done. It¹s been kind of a wild ride, but this is just great news.²
Weisenberg said that the urgency of the project has always been his focus. He added that he hoped the dredging could be completed before the April 1 deadline, when such work is prohibited on the Point Lookout beach due to the spring nesting activity of the endangered piping plover.
³Hopefully, we can get it done before the birds,² Weisenberg said. ³I¹ve been on this for 20 years now. This is an imminent need of the concerned constituents in the area. It has to be done immediately.²
While neither Skelos¹s nor Weisenberg¹s name appeared in a DEC press release detailing the state contract, it did include Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, who have both stated that they would continue to push for federal funding for Jones Inlet. The release also said, however, that the state does not anticipate being reimbursed for the dredging work. When asked to clarify this, Dunham said that the federal government is free to step in at any point and fund the project¹s remaining balance.
On June 28, Clinton and Schumer announced that the Senate Appropriation Committee had approved $3 million for the project, reserved for 2008. It is uncertain at this point whether that money will be used.
According to Dunham, the current project is what is important now, but future funding will always be needed to maintain the safety of the inlet. ³This project is going to help nourish and replenish the beach for several years,² Dunham said. ³But at the end of the day, I know the Army Corps is looking out for future projects.²
According to the DEC, the date when dredging will begin is dependent on when equipment becomes available. Dunham said that the Army Corps has made a commitment to the state to complete the project done before the April 1.
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