It has come to my attention that FEMA has granted an extension on the requirement to file flood claims, going from from 60 days to one year.
 

Happy Holidays!

Jay Pagano

Beach replenishment is a complex topic and the information available is subject to frequent change.  As you can imagine, all of the Fire Island communities are pressing for something to be done and there are a number of approaches being pursued.  I know that many of you are very concerned about the lack of dunes and the ocean front owners want to know particularly what they can do themselves.

The possible projects fall into three categories - Army Corps/FIMP, another project similar to the 2009 project and beach scraping/sand cubing.

Army Corp/FIMP
The President has submitted a request for hurricane relief for the affected states in the area of $60 billion. It is expect that Congress will authorize relief.  Included in the request were funds for beach replenishment for Fire Island.  This would be what I am calling the Army Corps/FIMP project.  For many years, the Fire Island communities have been pursuing a Fire Island to Montauk Point (FIMP) project.  This Army Corps project would include beach replenishment on Fire Island as well as further east to Montauk and further west to the Rockaways.  The Army Corps has stated publically that it is taking on this project.  Joe Vitrie, the Army Corps head in the northeast has long supported a project.  He has appeared in the past at our annual meeting and has always been a friend of the Pines. Where Congress grants relief after a hurricane it makes a lump sum grant to the states and the Governor decides how the money is to be expended.  Governor Cuomo has already appointed a task force to decide how this grant will be spent. The very important thing will be to lobby the Governor to include this shore line project. 

The Army Corps/FIMP project offers the greatest protection to Fire Island, the communities and our homes.  It would provide much greater protection than any of the projects we have attempted.  It would provide for beach replenishment along this whole stretch of barrier islands.   There has been resistance to such a project at the state level going way back.  The feeling was that barrier islands should be left to natural forces.  This resistance at the state level has been a major barrier to an island wide project.  Hurricane Sandy and the damage it has wrought all along our coast offers a possibility of getting this project.  And the Army Corps has the legal authority and skills to get it done quickly.  We will need to build a lobby in support.  This lobby must include the Town of Brookhaven as well as Suffolk County. The new Town Supervisor Ed Romaine is meeting with the Fire Island community leaders on Monday and we will be pressing for the Town to get behind this and I will be present.  Similarly there is a meeting with Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone early in January and we will be making a similar case to him.  We will also be working with our two Senators and Congressman Bishop to get them to lobby the Governor.  
 
FEMA (Another 5 Year Project)
The Pines has been working with several other communities the last few years to mount another 5 year project similar to the projects we have done in 2004 and 2009 utilizing our erosion control district.  It is called the FEMA project because that agency has committed to pay for 85% of the project.  Unfortunately, the regulatory hurdles to these projects are extensive and time consuming.  Because of the uncertainty of the Army Corps project, we are continuing to pursue this project.   We are asking FINS to drop the requirements of the Environmental Impact Study in favor of the much shorter EA.  While this study is less complex it would still take a minimum of 6 months.  The big issue is identifying the source of sand.  The sand from the dredging of the Fire Island inlets is no longer available and it is being used to repair storm damage elsewhere.  The sand would have to come from an offshore borrow site.  The site we used for the 2009 project has been depleted.  Other sites would have to be developed.  They are out in the ocean including one along the Robert Moses Beach.  This would be ideal as it is outside of FINS jurisdiction.  It is our plan to continue to pursue this project and there is a meeting of the Erosion Control Districts on Friday to discuss this.  I think we have to pursue both projects because of the uncertainty of the larger project and its timeline.  If we go the way of the FEMA project the goal is to get it in over the 2013-2014 winter.  These projects can only go in during the late fall and winter because of environmental restrictions that would not apply to the Army Corps project.  If this project seems certain we would drop the 5 year project.

Beach Scraping/Sand Cubing
The DEC and FINS have established requirements for beach scraping.  They are 100 feet of dry beach at elevation 7 at high tide.  The Fire Island beaches do not permit scraping at this time.  Generally, in the winter the beaches are shorter but the beaches are building and the opportunity will hopefully present itself.  Our beaches are being monitored weekly by Land Use.  Once we appear to meet the criteria we will have the beach surveyed to document that we have met the requirements.  Assuming that this happens over the coming winter, we would then seek a waiver restricting such projects in winter months.  We are not certain when scraping can happen.
 
The DEC and FINS have permitted the use of the over-washed sand in the communities for filling sand cubes.  We have not undertaken this in the Pines because of the difficulty of extracting this sand from under and around homes.  There is over-washed sand on two sections of Ocean Walk, but it is not enough to do more than sand cubing in front of several homes.  We have also requested that the DEC permit a special harvesting of sand on the beach for a stretch of 20 feet in front of the dune line.  We would scrape one foot down and fill the cubes.  We are awaiting word from the DEC on this project.

Snow fencing: Typically, the beach is in erosion during the fall and winter months and sand buildup does not occur.  Our consultants advise that the risk of damage or destruction of snow fencing at this time of year is typically greater than the benefit of trapping sand during fall/winter months, and they usually do not recommend installation of snow fencing at this time of year.  Fencing is more typically installed, and beneficial, in the spring once the beach starts building toward its summer profile.   Fencing was installed after the scraping last fall as a permit condition to protect and stabilize the augmented dune.  We are continuing to monitor this and are prepared to run sand fencing along the length of the Pines at such time as our consultants believe it will be effective.

Finally, I want to talk about what ocean front homeowners can do themselves.   The most effective measure would be sand cubes.  Sand cubes are a measure designed to protect structures/infrastructure from minor storms and spring high tides, not to protect against strong nor'easters or Sandy-type storms.  Sand cubes provide a berm-like feature to prevent water from flowing directly from ocean inland.  In areas where there is no dune present, or where structures are at the edge of a scarped dune, sand cubes will provide added protection from minor storms. The homeowners can take and use over-washed sand around their house to fill sand cubes. 

Please note that any individuals that propose to perform this work should remove debris from their property before protective measures are installed.
 

Sand Cube sources: 

Tape Direct Incorporated
Tel: (718) 599-1799 
- Pricing between $6.95 - $15.00 per bag depending on how many are purchased.
 

Island Block
Contact: Rio Tallini 
Tel: (631) 643-6000
1 cubic yard sand cubes pre-filled with sand $50.00/bag
Delivery fee of $250.00 per 20 bags for delivery
 

Individual home owners can also install sand fencing.
 

The hurricane has been rough on all of us. Fortunately the Pines was impacted less than other communities on Fire Island.  We have plans in place to remove hurricane debris and we are doing all that we can to replenish the beach.  I am confident that the Pines will recover and we will be back in the swing for the summer of 2013.
 

Happy Holidays! 

Jay Pagano