Suffolk says rebuilding of Fire Island dunes urgent

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has asked the Army Corps of Engineers to speed up rebuilding Fire Island's dunes even as local officials fear a new state plan threatens more delays.

Bellone, in a letter to Joseph Vietri, Army Corps North Atlantic Division planning and policy chief, said that one year after the storm -- and despite the federal funds in superstorm Sandy aid -- "our homes, businesses and citizens are facing a winter storm season without on-the-ground actions in place or even underway."

The letter also was signed by Babylon, Brookhaven, Islip and Southampton supervisors.

Bellone's request comes less than a week after Army Corps officials told the New York Department of Conservation that construction of the dune line -- designed to shield Suffolk County from powerful storms, could be delayed until next fall.

The Army Corps had hoped to begin dredging off the barrier island this winter, but difficulties in the details including how many homes face demolition or relocation remain.

Vietri said Wednesday that the project is complex and was also delayed by the government shutdown and coordinating with the Army Corps' partners.

"It is critical that all parties remain flexible, adopt a willingness to assume some risk and allocate the necessary resources to allow us to collaboratively work through these complex issues in a timely manner," he said.

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Among the issues is how many homes must be moved, purchased or torn down to make way for the 15-foot-high dune, which would buffer part of Suffolk's fragile coastline from the relentless pounding of waves during and after large storms.

The state unveiled its proposal -- which could affect 80 to 100 homes -- on Oct. 29 at a meeting with federal and local officials.

The Fire Island National Seashore and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which would build the dune, had drafted a plan that would have hit 40 or so homeowners on the barrier island.

"The new dune line being discussed will put a significant number of homes in the 'at risk zone,' " said Robert L. Cox, III, mayor of Saltaire.

"And more importantly, it raises the chance that someone is going to challenge that and slow the process down," he said, referring to the possibility that property owners might sue.

Peter Constantakes, DEC acting director of public information, however, said by email "We have not proposed a new alignment and any assertion to the contrary is just wrong."

Opponents of the DEC plan said its delays could cost New York the $700 million of federal funding that was earmarked for the Fire Island to Montauk Point project to a faster-acting state.

Opponents said the DEC proposed a 15-foot buffer on the dune's north side, but that means more homes, decks or pools would have to be demolished or moved.

Alternatively, the DEC has said it wants the dune built 15 feet closer to the ocean, the officials said.

But that new dune so close to the ocean would cost too much because it would erode so swiftly. Further, the Fire Island National Seashore, which wanted the dune built further north, only accepted the compromise plan because it includes stiffer land use rules.

A spokesman for the national park directed questions to the DEC and the Army Corps.