Funding Secured For Emergency Dredge Of Moriches Inlet

Emergency dredging of Moriches Inlet will soon begin after $12.25 million in federal funding was reserved for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project, U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin said this week.

The decision comes after Mr. Zeldin surveyed the inlet’s conditions with local officials, boaters and fishermen in March, and called for the dredging. In April, the New York District commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Colonel Thomas Asbery, received the needed emergency declaration from Brigadier General William Graham of the Army Corps’s North Atlantic Division, which granted Mr. Zeldin’s request to perform emergency dredging.

Since then, funding and permits have been acquired so dredging vessels can begin working on the inlet as soon as possible, though an exact date has yet to be announced. The Army Corps is currently soliciting contracts to carry out the dredging, with plans to award the bid in June and notify the selected company in July.

“The $12.25 million in federal funding I secured for this emergency dredge is critical to open a vital artery for our vibrant coastal economy of marinas, restaurants, recreational boaters, commercial fishermen and all of the small businesses that support these industries,” Mr. Zeldin said in a statement. “Delivering the emergency dredge is important for so many reasons, including public safety, our regional economy, and water quality.”

The inlet was last dredged in 2012 in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and an estimated 300,000 cubic yards of sand is currently clogging the channel. According to a press release, the sand removed from Moriches Inlet will be placed at Smith Point County Park to help combat beach erosion.

The dredging will be done only in areas where needed, where the depth of the channels is reduced by sand, by pipeline dredge, hopper dredge or a similar plant. The contractor selected to complete the project will be required to complete the basic work within 48 days and produce at least 12,000 cubic yards of sand each day.