Emergency Dredging Approved for Moriches Inlet

Under a request from Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District has approved the emergency dredging of Moriches Inlet which connects Moriches Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The emergency declaration allows for expedited coordination between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the State of New York Department of State to comply with several state and federal laws and to identify a placement location for 300,000 cubic yards of sand that will be removed. Strong storms last winter caused significant shoaling of Moriches Inlet.

After Rep. Zeldin surveyed the inlet’s dangerous navigation from aboard a fishing vessel, he joined with local elected officials, small businesses, boaters and fishermen to call for the emergency dredging.

“We appreciate the team effort to have quickly received the needed Emergency Declaration from our higher Headquarters to address this issue,”  Col. Thomas Asbery, commander, New York District said. “I’d like to thank Rep. Zeldin and our partners at the local, state, and federal level for their support in helping to address this challenge. We look forward to performing the work to restore Moriches Inlet to its federally authorized depth in the near future, which will make it safe and usable for the residents of Long Island.”