ON HEELS OF JUST-PASSED BI-PARTISAN BUDGET, SCHUMER ANNOUNCES RE-PROGRAMMING OF $730 MILLION IN ARMY CORPS FUNDS FOR DESPERATELY-NEEDED & LONG-DELAYED SANDY PROJECTS, LIKE CONSTRUCTION OF STORM PROTECTION MEASURES IN ROCKAWAY
Over $700M in Funds Were Trapped in Limbo, Left Over From Already-Completed Emergency Sandy Recovery But Unable to Fund the Construction of Critical Coastline Protections; Schumer Successfully Transferred Funds To Finally Be Used for Various Vital Resiliency Projects in Army Corps Pipeline
Schumer Announces, After His Push, Budget Deal Provides Big Boost to Army Corps to Pay For Critical Storm Protection Projects In Rockaway & Jamaica Bay; Without This Reprogramming, These Critical Projects At Risk For Never Getting Built
Schumer: These Funds Are A Game Changer for the Rockaways Pending Army Corps Flood Protection Projects
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that he secured nearly $730 million in federal funding for the construction of Sandy-related Army Corps projects, including vital storm protection projects in Rockaway and Jamaica Bay, Long Island’s Fire Island to Montauk Point plan (FIMP), and Staten Island’s South Shore Sea Wall. The $730 million in funding was previously trapped in limbo, unable to fund the construction of critical mitigation work throughout New York. Schumer successfully transferred these funds in the just-passed budget so that they can be used towards the construction of desperately needed coastline protection projects in New York. Schumer explained the additional $730 million will help to ensure critical pieces of the Rockaway and Jamaica Bay projects move forward including the dunes, groins, and beach fill along the Atlantic Shoreline and the high frequency flooding risk reduction measures in Jamaica Bay.
“The reprogramming of the $730 million that was trapped in limbo is a game-changer for critical storm protection projects in and around Rockaway and Jamaica Bay that otherwise may never be built. It serves as an insurance policy of resources for the Army Corps to move forward on various mitigation elements along the Atlantic Shoreline and Back Bay,” said Schumer. “These funds will give a major boost to the Army Corps’ construction account and help grease the skids for desperately needed resiliency projects across New York so that they can move full steam ahead. With these funds there should be little in the way of completing this important storm protection project in Rockaway,” said Schumer.
“This massive infusion of construction funds will enable the Army Corps to take berms and barriers and jetties from the drawing board to the beach and bay,” Schumer continued.
In 2013, Schumer successfully passed the Sandy Relief bill which provided $60 billion in federal disaster funds. Of that, over $5 billion was appropriated to Army Corps projects, with over $2.1B for New York Army Corps projects. One of the main goals of the Sandy relief package was to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild and fortify the New York coastline.
Schumer today explained that $730 million of those funds have sat in limbo, unable to be used to construct critically needed mitigation projects throughout New York. As a result, Schumer successfully pushed in the just-passed budget deal to repurpose and transfer those unused funds into the pot of funds used for the Army Corps’ construction of coast resiliency projects in New York. Schumer said that this $730 million funding can now be used towards projects like the Rockaway and Jamaica Bay Reformulation, Long Island’s FIMP, and the South Shore Staten Island Sea Wall.
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