FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 29, 2004
SCHUMER TO PRESIDENT: DON'T SHORTCHANGE LI ARMY CORPS OF
ENGINEERS PROJECTS
Senator asks President Bush to ensure Army Corps projects around
Long Island and across New York State are fully funded in forthcoming
2005 Budget
Local officials concerned that projects to fight erosion along
South Shore and help commercial fishing in Lake Montauk Harbor face
draconian cuts
Program that could help save TWA Flight800 Memorial may be
on the chopping block
US Senator Chuck Schumer today asked President George W. Bush to
fully fund Army Corps of Engineers projects on Long Island in the
2005 Federal Budget that he is scheduled to send to Congress next
week. Schumer has heard from local officials on Long Island and
across New York State that Army Corps in the state may face draconian
budget cuts in the forthcoming budget proposal. These cuts could
delay or terminate plans to fight beach erosion along Long Island's
South Shore and help commercial fishermen around Lake Montauk Harbor.
"Long Island's waterways are its heart and soul, and the Army
Corps has an excellent record protecting and improving them –
with a good return on the investment for taxpayers," Schumer
said. "Severe cutbacks in these projects will cause delays
and possible cancellations, and that's flat-out unfair for Long
Islanders who already pay too much in taxes."
In a letter to President Bush, Schumer highlighted seven Army Corps
projects across New York State that may face drastic cuts, including
two on Long Island. The Army Corps' Fire Island Inlet to Montauk
Point Reformulation Project is determining how to provide hurricane
protection and beach erosion control along five reaches of the south
shore of Long Island between Fire Island Inlet and Montauk Point,
a distance of approximately 83 miles. The study was initiated in
1994 and is almost completed. Schumer said today that a large cut
in the program's funding now could mean that years of work could
go to waste and hundreds of thousands of South Shore residents could
be left unprotected from storms.
Schumer also pointed out that despite temporary measures to protect
it, the TWA Flight 800 Memorial at Smith Point Park has been buffeted
by two major winter storms this season which severely eroded the
beach there and left the memorial close to being swallowed by the
sea. The Army Corps' Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point Reformulation
Project could help provide badly-needed protection to the Memorial,
so the shore sand in front of it does not have to be manually replenished
every year at the cost of millions of dollars.
The Army Corps' Lake Montauk Harbor Project is developing a way
to improve boat navigation in the area and determine if dredging
will help commerce and the environment there. Lake Montauk Harbor
is one of the busiest commercial fishing ports on Long Island. Schumer
noted that both the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
and the Town of East Hampton have committed significant financial
resources to the project because the harbor is home to a substantial
commercial fishing fleet that is vital to the local economy. Schumer
also highlighted the importance of the Army Corps' work in the Bronx
River Basin, Fulmer Creek, Steele Creek, and Moyer Creek near Utica,
and the Sacandaga River in the Town of Wells, in Hamilton County.
"These projects are extremely important to the economic and
environmental health of the State of New York. I respectfully request
that as you finalize your budget request for the upcoming fiscal
year you give these projects the utmost consideration," Schumer
wrote to the President.
A copy of Schumer's letter is attached.
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