DESCRIPTION: The Montauk Point study area, including the historic lighthouse, is located on a bluff at the eastern end of the southern fork of Long Island in the Town of East Hampton, Suffolk County, NY. It is approximately 125 miles east of New York City. The Point separates the Atlantic Ocean to the south from the Block Island Sound to the north. The area surrounding the lighthouse is operated as a State park and is used primarily by fishermen and sightseers. The Montauk Point Lighthouse was commissioned by President Washington and completed in 1796. It is included in the National Register of Historic Places. Since its construction, the lighthouse has served as an important navigation aid for the first land encountered by ships headed for New York Harbor and Long Island Sound, as well as other ports on the eastern seaboard. Its original position was approximately 300 feet from the eastern tip of Long Island, but the combined forces of storm induced erosion and long term constant erosion now leave less than 50 feet of land in front of the structure. The entire State park, which surrounds the lighthouse complex, is being increasingly threatened by the loss of protective beachfront land.
AUTHORIZATION: The Montauk Point study is authorized by a resolution of the Committee on the Environment and Public Works of the United States Senate adopted 15 May 1991. Project construction is authorized in Section 1001 (36) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. In response to the 2012 Sandy event, PL 113-2, The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 will provide the Federal funds to complete initial construction.
STATUS: The recommended plan of improvement identified in the Final Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement (dated October 2005) entails the placement of an 840-foot long stone revetment to cover the most critically eroding area of Montauk Point, in order to avoid the eventual total loss of the irreplaceable historic lighthouse complex. The Final Report of the Chief of Engineers on the Montauk Point, New York, Hurricane & Storm Damage Reduction Project was provided to Congress on March 31, 2006.
In response to the 2012 Sandy event, a Final Hurricane Sandy Limited Re-evaluation Report (HSLRR), Final Environmental Assessment (EA) and Final Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) were completed and formally approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 6 April 2017.
The design phase for preparation of contract plans and specifications for project construction was initiated in April 2017 and is currently underway. A Project Partnership Agreement was executed with the State of New York in January 2019, to cost-share project construction (65% Federal, and 35% Non-Federal). Project construction is anticipated to start in late Summer 2019.
CONTACT:
Frank Verga,
Project Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District
Phone: (917) 790-8212
E-mail: Frank.Verga@usace.army.mil
Programs and Project Management Division
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278-0090
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS: NY-1