Another Shinnecock Inlet Dredging Project In The Works

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is slated to survey the Shinnecock Inlet to prepare for another dredging project there, while U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin works to get the project started as soon as possible.

According to Jennifer DiSiena, Mr. Zeldin’s communications director, the Army Corps will conduct a survey this spring to estimate how much it would cost to dredge the channel just south of the jetties. Mr. Zeldin had received a letter from the Southampton Town Board last month asking for his assistance in alerting the Army Corps that the waterway needed to be dredged once again.

In an email this week, Ms. DiSiena said Mr. Zeldin hand-delivered the letter to Army Corps representatives when he last met with them in Washington, D.C.

“The congressman and our staff are working closely with the Army Corps to push this project along, especially working with the Coast Guard to get an emergency designation so that we can expedite the process, because this is becoming a navigation hazard for our local community,” Ms. DiSiena wrote.

Kenneth Wells, chief of public affairs for the New York District of the Army Corps North Atlantic Division, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

According to the Town Board’s letter, dated March 2, a large sand deposit has been migrating west off the inlet’s eastern jetty, resulting in a sandbar that has led to shoaling, creating a navigational hazard for boaters. Because of that, the board asked that Mr. Zeldin convey the urgency of the problem to the Army Corps so the situation does not threaten the commercial and recreational fishing businesses that rely on the inlet and boost the local economy.

“Running aground could create serious safety concerns for the captain and crew of these vessels. Boats are now routinely forced to wait outside the inlet during low tide periods before they can safely return to port. The accumulated sand may also complicate lifesaving efforts for the U.S. Coast Guard, which maintains a station in this area,” the Town Board wrote to Mr. Zeldin. “Coast Guard Station Shinnecock is currently broadcasting a radio message to all mariners warning of the conditions in the inlet due to the shoaling.

“We hope that, with your assistance in conveying the urgency to the Army Corps of Engineers, this area can be dredged expeditiously,” the letter continues. “We further request that any dredged materials be stockpiled in a town-designated spoil site to be made available for dune restoration along Dune Road in over-wash areas. There are several areas to the west where over-washing is threatening the integrity of the road and creating flooding of nearby residences. The town’s stockpile of sand is largely depleted.”

There have been several dredging projects at the Shinnecock Inlet over the last few years. In 2013, the Army Corps completed a large dredging project that removed 450,000 cubic yards of sand that was then used to restore beaches lost during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, as well as to bolster the Tiana Beach region. In late December, the Army Corps wrapped up another dredging project that involved clearing the western side and then depositing the spoils on the beach to the west of the inlet.

Suffolk County crews dredged the eastern side of the inlet earlier this year and used that sand to build up the shore in front of nearby homes, as well as to build up the beach in front of the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.