News Releases

Army Corps of Engineers announces the signing of the Chief’s Report for the proposed Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point, New York Coastal Storm Risk Management Project

USACE New York District
Published July 10, 2020
Beachgoers in Montauk, New York, on Long Island's east end, set up camp along the shore, August 16, 2017. A New York District flood-control project created a wider beach for summer recreation as a secondary benefit.

Beachgoers in Montauk, New York, on Long Island's east end, set up camp along the shore, August 16, 2017. A New York District flood-control project created a wider beach for summer recreation as a secondary benefit.

 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, announces the signing of Report of the Chief of Engineers for the Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point (FIMP), New York Coastal Storm Risk Management Project.

“This Chief’s report and lessons learned from Sandy plot a path of resilience and mitigation we must both follow and fund,” said Sen. Charles Schumer. “Preserving this geographic region of Long Island means working to ensure homeowners, small businesses and our overall economy are better prepared and protected should another storm take perilous aim. Whether its beach or dune reconstruction, groin modifications or a typical sand replacement, FIMP remains an ongoing effort, a community-centered priority and a federally-backed goal we must continue to champion.”

"I am pleased that the Army Corps has achieved this important milestone in moving forward with the FIMP project," said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. "Ensuring that the communities along our coast are protected from the next Sandy-like storm is a top priority for me, and I will continue to work with the local communities and residents, as well as my colleagues in Congress, to ensure that we achieve that important goal."

“The Fire Island to Montauk Point plan is vital to our local environment, economy and coastal way of life, and the wide-spread devastation in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy emphasized the dire need to ensure our communities are prepared for the future,” said Congressman Zeldin. “FIMP started as a vision over a half century ago and now it is becoming a reality. Since coming to Congress, I’ve worked closely with the Army Corps of Engineers and Department of the Interior every step of the way to ensure local projects are prioritized. The approval of the Chief's Report on FIMP is great news for our local shorelines and for Long Islanders. I thank the Army Corps for their continued hard work on this vital project and look forward to continuing to help move FIMP over the finish line.”

 “The signing of this report represents a culmination of decades of work and is a significant milestone for the Fire Island to Montauk Point Project; the Army Corps of Engineers’ recommendations provides a holistic and sustainable coastal storm risk management solution that spans 83 miles with project features on both the shorefront and back bays,” said Col. Matthew Luzzatto, New York District Commander. “Most notably I am proud of the nature-based features. This has truly been a team effort and I want to thank all of our engineers, scientists and partners at the local, state and federal level for their unwavering support.”

The proposed FIMP project recommends the following:

  • Inlet Sand Bypassing - Sand bypassing along Fire Island, Moriches and Shinnecock Inlets with monitoring is included to facilitate adaptive management changes (operational changes during a project to optimize its intended function.)
  • Mainland Nonstructural - Nonstructural measures, primarily structure elevations, building retrofits, for 4,432 structures within the 10-year floodplain, with ring walls (a walled structure encircling a home) for 93 structures, localized acquisition in areas subject to high frequency flooding with the reestablishment of natural floodplain function.
  • Breach Response on Barrier Islands.
  • Beach and Dune Fill on Shorefront - with renourishment approximately every four (4) years for up to 30 years after project completion.
  • Feeder beach construction every 4 years for up to 30 years at Montauk Beach. (A feeder beach is an artificially widened beach that nourishes down-drift beaches)
  • Adaptive management to ensure volume and placement configuration accomplishes the design objectives of offsetting long-term erosion.
  • Groin Modifications - Removal of the existing Ocean Beach groins.
  • Coastal Process Features (CPFs) for 12 Barrier Island and two mainland locations. Sediment will be placed along the Barrier Island bayside shoreline over the project life to reestablish the coastal processes consistent with the objective of no net loss of habitat or sediment. 
  • Integration of Local Land Use Regulations and Management

The New York District lead the planning effort for the proposed action with the National Park Service (NPS), Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as the responsible cooperating agencies. The non-Federal Sponsor is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in cooperation with Suffolk County.

The Chief’s Report and other related documents for the FIMP project are available on New York District’s web site at https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Projects-in-New-York/Fire-Island-to-Montauk-Point/.


Contact
Public Affairs
(917) 790-8007
cenan-pa@usace.army.mil

Release no. 20-039