Velázquez, Goldman Lead Twelve Members in Calling for More Complete Flood Protection Plan for NY and NJ

Brooklyn, NEW YORK— Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY) led twelve Members of Congress from New York and New Jersey in sending a bi-partisan letter to the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) expressing concern that the New York-New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Focus Area Feasibility Study (HATS), and its upcoming Agency Decision Milestone (ADM), tentatively scheduled for release this summer, does not comply with the Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA) of 2020 and 2022 or President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative (J40).

“With the passage of WRDA, Congress directed the Army Corps to formulate a plan that protects the region from tidal and river flooding, heavy rainfall, groundwater emergence, erosion, sea level rise and storm surge,” wrote the Lawmakers. “However, after seven years of planning, the Army Corps is proposing to spend $52.6 billion to protect our constituents from only one kind of flooding - storm surge. Members of Congress worked diligently to pass WRDA on behalf of our constituents in communities that remain vulnerable to multiple flood threats, and we urge HATS to comply. To ignore the more frequent flooding threats that plague our region is an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars.”

In the letter, the Members list actions that they would like USACE to take to better protect millions of residents in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area from flooding:

1. Promptly issue implementation guidance on applicable directives in 2020 and 2022 WRDA legislation.
2. Factor that guidance into the current draft environmental impact study (DEIS) to conduct additional analyses and develop additional alternatives,
3. Ensure that disadvantaged communities are properly protected.
4. Issue a Supplemental DEIS for public review and comment before reaching the Agency Decision Milestone.

In addition to Velázquez and Goldman, this letter was signed by Representatives Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Hakeem Jefferies (NY-08), Michael Lawler (NY-17), Greogory Meeks (NY-05), Grace Meng (NY-06), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Donald Payne (NJ-10), Patrick Ryan (NY-18), Paul Tonko (NY-20), and Ritchie Torres (NY-15).

“We are so grateful for the leadership of Congresswomen Velazquez and Congressman Goldman and other members of Congress on raising their concerns about this costly and destructive project. This outdated plan is the most expensive project proposed by the Army Corps and yet fails to do what it was intended to, which is to protect communities from more frequent, everyday flooding and sea level rise,” said Lauren Cosgrove, Northeast Campaign Director for the National Parks Conservation Association.  “It would destroy viewsheds, pave what’s left of the invaluable greenspaces along the cities’ waterfronts and block public access that we fought hard to preserve after Sandy. This one-size-fits all approach would restrict water flow and make our communities and national park lands at Gateway National Recreation Area more vulnerable to flooding and dirtier water, risking public health and safety. The Corps must hit the pause button and design a better plan, as federal law requires, to ensure a better future for the 16 million people that live and work here and the millions more that visit.”

"The Natural Areas Conservancy firmly believes that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must take a more holistic approach to coastal protection that considers community and social benefits, evaluates economic impacts with equity and environmental justice at the forefront, and carefully evaluates and minimizes impacts to the incredible ecosystems and biodiversity that New York City supports, including our natural areas and wetlands. Coastal protection should work with, instead of against, nature to help make our communities more resilient, while protecting the environment we all depend on for urban life." - Sarah Charlop-Powers, executive director of the Natural Areas Conservancy

"The New York and New Jersey Congressional delegation has long understood the need for a regional solution to flooding and climate impacts, led by the Army Corps of Engineers. Today, 14 members of our Congressional delegation have, again, made it clear that the Corps must pursue a holistic plan that protects not just against the next Hurricane Sandy, but multiple climate threats, with a focus on the environmental justice and frontline communities – those that stand to lose the most.  Thank you, Rep. Velazquez and Goldman, for spearheading this critical push. We will continue to work with you and the entire delegation to promote an equitable, resilient, and comprehensive flood plan for the Harbor region," said Cortney Koenig Worrall, President and CEO, Waterfront Alliance

"This show of support from our congressional partners is greatly appreciated and so important to the fight for environmental justice in the USACE HATS plan. NYC-EJA and our partners have worked tirelessly to ensure that the most vulnerable communities are not excluded and unprotected from the final USACE plan for the NY-NJ region, and we are eager to see the Army Corps take the requirements of WRDA 2020 and 2022 seriously and update the plan accordingly, prior to reaching their Agency Decision Milestone in the coming months." -Victoria Sanders, Research Analyst, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance

"A plan that doesn't include our communities is no plan at all," said Amy Chester, Managing Director of Rebuild by Design. "The communities have been clear in what they want to see – high engagement, high transparency and collaboration built into the project design of multi-hazard and multi-solutional interventions. We should not settle for less and we thank Congress for standing up for a stronger plan."

“The bipartisan call from members of Congress to fix the Army Corps’ flawed plan for New York and New Jersey comes at a critical juncture. Twice now, Congress has told the Army Corps to take a more holistic view of protecting the metro region from climate change, including storm surge, sea level rise, heavy rainfall, and groundwater inundation, only to have the Corps revert to a myopic focus on storm surge gates, which cut off our waterways and trap pollution,” said Tracy Brown, President of Riverkeeper. “A broad coalition of partners from across the region is calling for the Army Corps to heed the directives of Congress and revisit the study, to more comprehensively address all our flooding risks while taking into account environmental justice communities and environmentally significant waterways and wildlife. At this crucial inflection point, we need to get this right.”

“New York-New Jersey Harbor is home to our nation’s densest coastal metropolis. Any plan to mitigate flooding should address all the types of flooding we face, using the best available science,” said Kate Boicourt, director for Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds New York-New Jersey program. “Without changes, the Corps’ plan puts communities at risk, perpetuates inequities and neglects the opportunity to build the future that communities deserve. In the 21st century, we need 21st century solutions that work better for people and nature. We thank Congress for working with local communities to ensure the Corps invests in a holistic approach to flood planning that benefits communities for generations to come.” 

“Our region’s waterfront communities and ecosystems are enduring a multitude of worsening climate impacts that disproportionately hurt communities who have borne the burden of marginalization, discrimination and poor land use decisions for too long,” said Robert Freudenberg, Vice President for Energy & Environment at Regional Plan Association. “As the very viability of the region is threatened, there is perhaps no more important study being carried out than HATS, and no greater need than to get the final approach right. We applaud this effort to seek a better plan from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that takes on all flooding threats, does right by our communities, and better integrates and protects the natural systems of our Harbor Estuary.”

A PDF of the letter can be found here.

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