Dan's Papers - September 5, 2008

The South Shore of Long Island has been in the spotlight for reasons other then celebrity sightings. For the last 40 years, The Army Corps of Engineers has been reformulating a coastal management study that will provide an overview of our shoreline - from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point. Recently, a draft proposal of observations and preliminary recommendations was unofficially released to state, federal and local lawmakers in Babylon. When the full recommendations are complete (in 2009), the public will be able to respond and comment.

For the last 10 years, the Corps has been in the spotlight for another reason. A lawsuit brought against Suffolk County by Sagaponack homeowner Cynthia Ireland and her attorney, Gary Ireland, who is also her son, contends that the building of the Georgica jetties (also known as groins) by the Corps (supported by the Southampton Town Board) has accelerated erosion along ocean beaches west of the groins - namely, in front of the Ireland's home. Last Tuesday, federal court judge Brian Cogan ruled in favor of the county. Not surprisingly, Ireland intends to file an appeal.

"This could have been one of the most important environmental cases in Suffolk County history," said Ireland. He compared the lack of proper long-term maintenance along the groin field area on the South Fork to the levy deterioration that went unaddressed in New Orleans. "It could well affect the lives of many people without the natural protection of our beaches - which are in effect our levies." With hurricane season in full bloom this is an important point. But Cogan declared that the county cannot be held responsible for events that occur as a part of the natural process of the seas, weather and tides.

A bit of background for those who aren't familiar with the drama. Groins were constructed west of Georgica Pond in 1965, and erosion became an issue merely 18 months later. (Many blame Pan Am President Juan Trippe for their placement, but he isn't at fault entirely. A proposal to remove the groins in 1981 was never acted upon.) As is always the case, the downdrift (or western side) of any groin, bulkhead or structure gets eroded. Sand builds up on the eastern side of the groin as it hits the blockade but wave action scours out the other side of the structure. Ireland's mother owns a summer cottage on Potato Road in Sagaponack that was built in 1838. The area no longer has the dunes in front that young Gary camped in as a kid. In fact, the house has already been moved back twice.

The Army Corps' original plan was to provide beach renourishment in order to avoid that situation. (Ft. Lauderdale underwent an enormous beachside renourishment last winter. That beach, like ours, is one of the area's largest attractions. Ireland added, "There would be no Miami Beach without beach nourishment.") But renourishment here was never done. Even though it was the responsibility of Suffolk County to monitor and maintain this area, decades passed and property was lost due to a lack of action. Why did County officials drag their heels to the point of being sued? For now, the county will not have to answer, in monetary terms that is, for a lack of action in the past.

Stuart Vorpahl, a long time resident and fisherman who knows the beach as well and even better than local surfers, testified during the trial about the facts of the western flow of the littoral drift along East End beaches. But evidently, Cogan also gave credence to a government expert for the county who testified to the exact opposite, stating that the sand drift to the east of the groins is actually moving eastward, and that Montauk Point is growing. A trip to Ditch Plains or the Lighthouse, our eyes tell us differently.

"We need some responsibility from our government entities," Ireland noted. Ireland wants the government agencies to take responsibility for their actions and deliver on their promises. His choice now is to file the expected appeal, or wait until the Army Corps of Engineers report is open for public comment in 2009.

Which brings us to the second South Shore saga - the coastal management study, 40 years in the making. It dovetails with Ireland's lawsuit in several ways, including the determination of what causes erosion, how and if it should be stemmed, and who pays for what. According to the Corps' mission statement, the plan is to: "prepare ... long-term regional strategy for the 83 mile portion of the south shore." The Corps has chosen to treat the area as one coastal system rather than a string of diverse communities with widely varying issues on topics like erosion, flooding, loss or removal of homes and structures, nor' easters and hurricane damage, and sea breaches. The report states, "Priority will be given to non-structural measures [e.g., groins] that reduce risks and provide protection to human life and property, restore and enhance coastal processes and ecosystem integrity, and are environmentally sustainable."

The evaluation involves state-of-the-art engineering studies and experiments that will be used to anticipate and/or remedy future shoreline change. And change it will.

When the hurricane of '38 covered over 50 square miles of land with water, the damage was not as extensive as it would be today. After World War II, a building boom happened on Long Island - before there was a coastal flood plain study, and before the National Flood Insurance program put restrictions on flood plain development. As a result, large areas of inland development, not only houses with waterfront/waterview, are in potential flood plains (the Corps extends the flood plain up to Montauk Highway and in some areas Sunrise Highway). Since the sea level is expected to continue to rise in the next 50 years and storm damage is expected to intensify, more structures are bound to be threatened over time.

The final report will assign financial responsibility - in other words, what exactly local, county and state governments will have to pony up for. It will also present alternatives like beach replenishment, property acquisition, dune building, structure elevations and relocations, and additional groins that will help to address the effects of coastal dynamics over time. Whatever the recommendations, the towns will surely have their own ideas about how they want the shoreline treated.