Tell the Army Corps: Reject storm surge barriers, prioritize nature-based solutions

NY Harbor 2019
Learn more: Riverkeeer.org/barriers

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to build 12 storm surge barriers – giant moveable gates – across the mouths of waterways such as Jamaica Bay, Newtown Creek, Flushing Creek and Gowanus Canal, as part of a $52 billion suite of large-scale construction projects to protect the New York-New Jersey region from coastal storm surges.

Federal investment in flood protection is sorely needed. But the Corps’ plan is too short-sighted, too limited in scope, and too damaging to the natural environment. We need to restore life to our rivers, not choke them off with gates.

The proposed gates would be supported by giant, permanent structures built into the water. These structures – even when the gates are open – threaten to reduce tidal flow, impede fish migration, and trap contaminants in waters already burdened by pollution and degradation. Designed to close only during rare storms, they would fail to protect against rising groundwaters, recurring tidal flooding, and precipitation-related flooding like what New York saw during Hurricane Ida.

We need the Army Corps to do better. Now is the time to take action to ensure that the waters of New York and New Jersey are healthy and life-sustaining, especially as we face the extremes of a changing climate.

Throughout New York City, an archipelago with a multitude of waterways and coastal habitats, there are opportunities to design berms and other shoreline measures that allow rivers to flow, provide public access to the water, incorporate green stormwater infrastructure and enhance natural habitat. The Army Corps must take a holistic approach that can protect neighborhoods from the full combination of storm surges, rainfall and sea level rise.

Join Riverkeeper and our partners in urging the Corps not to build storm surge barriers, and instead to pursue these better options. Help support federal investments that provide comprehensive flood protection and protect the life in our waters.

The public is invited to submit comments by March 31.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Read the sample letter (below) and edit it as you see fit. Note: Personalized letters are far more effective – even if you simply add an opening sentence.

• Complete the required fields and click “Send Message.”

Recipients

Bryce Wisemiller, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District

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Dear: [Decision Maker],

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I write to state my opposition to the construction of storm surge barriers in the waters of New York and New Jersey, and to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize flood protections that are more comprehensive and that avoid ecological harm.

I appreciate the Corps' crucial efforts to address storm surge risks in our region and the opportunity to comment on the New York-New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Study Draft Integrated Feasibility and Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement.

In short, I believe the in-water storm surge barriers in the Corps' tentatively selected plan, Alternative 3B, would be too harmful to the environment, exacerbate long standing inequities, expose certain areas to increased flood risk, and fail to protect against the long term certainty of increased flooding from sea level rise, heavy downpours and rising groundwater. The proposed storm surge barriers threaten to choke off the tidal flow, impede fish migration, and trap contaminants in waters already burdened by pollution and degradation.

I urge you to work closely with non-federal partners to plan and design berms and other shoreline measures that allow rivers to flow, provide public access to the water, incorporate green stormwater infrastructure, enhance natural habitat, and protect neighborhoods from the full combination of storm surges, rainfall and rising waters.

The non-federal partners' expertise in local planning, water and sewer infrastructure and existing resiliency projects should be fully utilized in helping to shape the plans and enhance public engagement and awareness.

The Army Corps relies on an outdated benefit-cost analysis that fails to put a value on rivers and their life, including endangered species like the Atlantic sturgeon. Scientists have noted that marine life has been stopped by storm surge barriers elsewhere. Marine habitats will be permanently altered by the proposed gates, in ways that are difficult to predict. The structures, and the faster currents they would cause, would likely restrict the movement of numerous small species around the barriers. Smaller creatures would be unable to effectively maneuver through the turbulent waters, and would be more vulnerable to predators at these locations.

The benefit-cost analysis is solely based on real estate and infrastructure values, ignoring the protection of human life, health, and the environment and perpetuating historic inequities caused by redlining and other racist policies. Instead the Army Corps should factor in the demographics of those protected or otherwise impacted by its plan, among many other considerations. New York City, New York State and New Jersey must work with communities and the Corps on additional strategies, including the potential benefits of prohibiting or minimizing new development in floodplains and/or implementing flood buyout programs.

Because of the Corps' narrow focus on storm surge, the tentatively selected plan overlooks risks from other types of flooding, such as rising groundwaters, tidal flooding, and precipitation-related flooding like what New York saw during Hurricane Ida. In fact, the Army Corps has stated that stormwater flooding is outside the scope of its study. The plan, therefore, is fatally flawed and irrationally skewed in favor of in-water storm barriers.

The Army Corps is also relying on outdated climate projections  less change in sea level than predicted by the New York City Panel on Climate Change and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I call on the Corps to amend its estimates to reflect the best science and most recent modeling to better inform the study, protect communities, and extend the useful life of any infrastructure developed as part of the plan.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]