DESCRIPTION: This is a multi-purpose project that provides both a navigation channel, a minimum of 250 feet wide and to a minimum of -10 feet Mean Low Water Datum, and coastal storm risk management benefits through the periodic maintenance dredging of the navigation channel with placement of all the dredged sand westward along the Gilgo Beach shoreline on Jones Island for several miles west of the inlet within the barrier island’s critical erosion areas. The dredged sand placed at Gilgo Beach can then nourish the westerly beaches moving towards Jones Inlet. The coastal storm risk management component of this multi-purpose project is cost shared by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Suffolk County. The navigation component is not cost-shared. This leads to a cost sharing ratio of Federal (82.6%) and non-Federal (17.4%). The non-Federal component is shared 50/50 between NYSDEC and Suffolk County.
AUTHORIZATION: The navigation channel was authorized by the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1937 and subsequently modified by the Rivers and Harbors Acts of 1950. In the Rivers and Harbors Acts of 1958 and 1962, the coastal storm risk management components were authorized and added to the navigation channel component, making this a unique multi-purpose project.
COMMERCE: The inlet is the homeport to U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Station Fire Island, has a fleet of 35 commercial charter boats, and a state park marina. Attendance to Captree boat basin nears 2 million annually. This asset is a heavily used recreational ocean inlet with very high shoal rate. The project addresses critical erosion areas along Jones Island, protects Ocean Parkway from flooding, and the barrier beach protects Great South Bay which is a significant wildlife habitat area. Many threatened species of shorebirds nest in the Great South Bay and surrounding area.
BACKGROUND: Fire Island Inlet was most recently dredged in 2024-25 with approximately 1.5 million cubic yards (CYs) of dredged sand placed along the Gilgo Beach shoreline. During the 2024-25 dredging cycle, additional work funded by the Towns of Babylon and Oyster Bay resulted in the placement of approximately 70,000 CYs at Overlook Beach and approximately 53,000 CYs at Tobay Beach. Previous dredging of the inlet included during 2022-23 with approximately 1.5 million cubic yards of dredged sand placed along the shorelines of Gilgo Beach at Robert Moses State Park under the Fire Island to Montauk Point Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project. During the Winter of 2018-19 the inlet was dredged to restore the shoreline of Gilgo Beach which was was damaged after a series of four nor‘Easters which occurred in March 2018. During the Winter of 2013-2014 approximately 1.8 million CYs of dredged sand from the inlet was placed along critical erosion areas of Gilgo Beach.
STATUS: Between September 2023 and January 2024, Gilgo Beach sustained significant erosion from multiple storm events between, including Hurricane Lee, Tropical Storm Ophelia, and several December–January low-pressure systems. Public Law 84-99 establishes USACE authority to provide emergency activities in support of state and local governments prior to, during, and after a flood event. Under this authority, a project information report (PIR) is required to secure funding to repair an existing USACE project damaged by an eligible event. In April 2024, a PIR was approved, authorizing repairs for 17,000 feet of shoreline along Gilgo Beach. Project funding was approved as part of the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025 (Public Law 118-158)), Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) Spend Plan, PL 118-158. During FY26, these funds will provide for solicitation and award of a contract to dredge up to approximately 2 million CYs from Fire Island Inlet to repair the shoreline of Gilgo Beach which will be performed during Fall 2026 through Winter 2027.
In addition, commonly performed Operations & Maintenance work will be performed including, monitoring of the channel shoaling conditions; coordination with the users and stakeholders including the USCG; monitoring of piping plovers with the US Fish and Wildlife Service; and production of an annual hydrographic condition survey, and publication of the Controlling Depth Report on the District’s website will also be performed in FY2026. (https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Controlling-Depth-Reports/).
CONTACT:
William T. Bruno
Asset/Project Manager
P: (917) 790-8516
Email: William.Bruno@usace.army.mil
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
District Area: NY #2