CONVERSATION
WITH JOSEPH VIETRI
Director US Army Corps
of Engineers National Planning Center For Coastal and Storm damage
North Atlantic Division
In response to New York
Times op-ed article on
Beach Replenishment
Project
New York Times Op-Ed Article on Beach Replenishment Project
The
Opinion Pages | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
A Beach
Project Built on Sand
By
ROBERT S. YOUNG
AUG. 21,
2014
EARLIER
this month, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a $207 million plan to dredge
millions of tons of sand off the south shore of Long Island and spread it along
the beaches and dunes. The Army Corps of Engineers, which will direct the
federally financed project, says it will stabilize Fire Island and reduce the
storm surge hazard for the mainland.
In fact,
the project will do neither. It is a colossal waste of money and another
consequence of the nation’s failure to develop a coherent plan to address the
risks from storms faced by states along the eastern seaboard and gulf coast.
Robert
S. Young is a professor of coastal geology and director of the Program for the
Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University.
A
version of this op-ed appears in print on August 22, 2014, on page A23 of the
New York edition with the headline: A Beach Project Built on Sand. Order
Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe
VIETRI'S RESPONSE
Director US Army Corps
of Engineers National Planning Center For Coastal and Storm damage
North Atlantic Division
Professor
Young takes great pains to say what the Corps of Engineers and it's partners
are doing is reactive vs proactive yet chooses to make no mention of the
many efforts currently underway by the Corps and others including the recent
National Research Council report which was funded by the Corps of Engineers and
whose findings generally mirror those of the Corps of Engineers North Atlantic
Comprehensive study. Professor Young selectively chooses to ignore the
vulnerable populations that remain at risk almost two years after Hurricane
Sandy and offers only the same old tired position that Coastal Storm Risk
Management projects are a waste of money, contrary to the large body of
scientific evidence that says otherwise.
Professor Youngs questions the science of the Fire Island to Montauk Point
Reformulation effort however, makes no mention of the close to 30
million dollars that have been spent in studying the problems needs and
opportunities of the area. The good Professor fails to mention the multi agency
collaboration that went into the plan selection nor does he mention that this
is a single one time fill placement to stabilize this vulnerable section of
shoreline while we complete the entire Reformulation effort. He also conveniently
forgets to mention the buyouts and relocation of 40 oceanfront houses or the
500 million dollars that is being considered for elevating 4500 homes in the 10
year floodplain associated with the project.
What professor young in fact offers us is the continuation of his main belief
of paralysis by over analysis while ignoring the plight of those who
remain vulnerable due to a deteriorated Coastal system.
It is a shame that Professor Young continues to confuse and
ignore the need to adapt to the realities of sea level change and that beach
nourishment while not the only tool in the tool box is a vital one to be
considered and in some cases embraced. Abandon the coast while viable in some
locations is certainly not the only answer.
Joseph Vietri, Chief Planning & Policy,
Director Corps of Engineers
Planning Center of Expertise for
Coastal and Storm Damage
North Atlantic Division
Vietri
is currently working on an official response
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