U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Meeting for New York New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Study

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New York District, in cooperation with non-federal sponsors the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, has announced a public meeting for the New York New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries (NYNJHAT) Study on February 27, 2020 in Rockaway Park, Queens.

According to USACE, the coastal storm risk management study covers the New York and New Jersey Harbor and tidally affected tributaries encompassing all of New York City, the Hudson River north to Troy; the lower Passaic, Hackensack, Rahway, and Raritan Rivers; and the Upper and Lower Bays of New York Harbor, Newark, Jamaica, Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays; the Kill Van Kull, Arthur Kill and East River tidal straits; and western Long Island Sound.

The study is authorized by a 1955 law that directs the examination of damages in coastal and tidal areas due to coastal storms, such as hurricanes, “and of possible means of preventing loss of human lives and damages to property, with due consideration of the economics of proposed breakwaters, seawalls, dikes, dams, and other structures, warning services, or other measures which might be required.”

At the meeting, the USACE will update stakeholders and the public on tasks underway since the release of an interim report in February, 2019.  One key task is the development of new preliminary data from USACE hydrodynamic modeling, which identifies possible induced flooding extents, including the Rockaway area, and consideration of measures to minimize, avoid or mitigate any and all induced flooding that may result from conceptual alternatives.