Late last year the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers started work on a project designed to protect the beachfront in downtown Montauk from erosion. This was despite warnings that the approach, installing giant sand filled bags, amounted to placing a hard structure on the beach that would be counter-productive.(*)
On today’s program Sustainable East End’s Francesca Rheannon talks with Kevin McAllister of the Sag Harbor-based environmental advocacy group Defend H2O.
They talk about the status of the Montauk beach project, the sources of pond and bay pollution, and recent rulings curbing the power of the Southampton Town Trustees to protect that town’s beachfront.
They talk about the status of the Montauk beach project, the sources of pond and bay pollution, and recent rulings curbing the power of the Southampton Town Trustees to protect that town’s beachfront.
UPDATE: February 11, 2016
Defend H2O and partners withdrew their lawsuit challenging the armoring of the beach at downtown Montauk.The Groups vowed to defend beaches from more armoring.
Defend H2O with its partners have withdrawn a lawsuit filed in March, 2016 to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s from constructing a 0.6 mile long, geotextile-sandbag seawall at downtown Montauk.
The Court’s denial of an injunction to stop work moved the group to believe litigation had run its course.
Sadly,construction has progressed to a point where the damages to the beach and natural protective features are too far gone.
The downtown Montauk shore-hardening project exists because of a failure to implement existing sustainable coastal policy and adhere to the law.
While the Corps misrepresented the facts, officials pushed through its approval,
disregarded Town Code, the LWRP, as well as, federal and state coastal management statutes.
The adverse effects from shore-hardening structures are well-established in science and policy. Hardening structures lead to the disappearance of the beach.
Geotextile sandbags are defined in Town Code and state law as a form of structure. Structures are explicitly prohibited on ocean beaches.
The Court’s decision to allow work to continue was a disappointment to many.
But, we must forge on. Defend H2O remains steadfast in defense of beaches and other natural shorelines against armoring.
We thank the countless supporters who stood in solidarity against the project.
While the damages have been inflicted, the Montauk tragedy serves as a catalyst for having an honest conversation about rising seas, shoreline dynamics, hard structures, pumping beaches and coastal retreat in our region.
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Defend H2O and partners withdrew their lawsuit challenging the armoring of the beach at downtown Montauk.The Groups vowed to defend beaches from more armoring.
Defend H2O with its partners have withdrawn a lawsuit filed in March, 2016 to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s from constructing a 0.6 mile long, geotextile-sandbag seawall at downtown Montauk.
The Court’s denial of an injunction to stop work moved the group to believe litigation had run its course.
Sadly,construction has progressed to a point where the damages to the beach and natural protective features are too far gone.
The downtown Montauk shore-hardening project exists because of a failure to implement existing sustainable coastal policy and adhere to the law.
While the Corps misrepresented the facts, officials pushed through its approval,
disregarded Town Code, the LWRP, as well as, federal and state coastal management statutes.
The adverse effects from shore-hardening structures are well-established in science and policy. Hardening structures lead to the disappearance of the beach.
Geotextile sandbags are defined in Town Code and state law as a form of structure. Structures are explicitly prohibited on ocean beaches.
The Court’s decision to allow work to continue was a disappointment to many.
But, we must forge on. Defend H2O remains steadfast in defense of beaches and other natural shorelines against armoring.
We thank the countless supporters who stood in solidarity against the project.
While the damages have been inflicted, the Montauk tragedy serves as a catalyst for having an honest conversation about rising seas, shoreline dynamics, hard structures, pumping beaches and coastal retreat in our region.
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27east.com reports on Southampton Trustees status:
A recent decision by the state’s highest court, which won’t allow an appeal by the Southampton Town Trustees of a ruling that stripped them of their ability to regulate erosion control devices within villages, has further muddied the waters as to who is now responsible for overseeing activities within the public easement along oceanfront beaches.
Nica B. Strunk, the attorney representing Quogue Village—which was sued by the Trustees after the village allowed the installation of giant sandbags under an artificial dune to bolster the shoreline following a series of destructive storms in 2011—stated that the State Court of Appeals decision not to revisit the case means that the Trustees have a limited say when it comes to the public easement within villages.
Nica B. Strunk, the attorney representing Quogue Village—which was sued by the Trustees after the village allowed the installation of giant sandbags under an artificial dune to bolster the shoreline following a series of destructive storms in 2011—stated that the State Court of Appeals decision not to revisit the case means that the Trustees have a limited say when it comes to the public easement within villages.
