A Problem They Don’t Want to Own
Town takeover at Montauk Point could help revetment, hurt surfing
(9/4/2008) A plan by the Army Corps of Engineers to shore up the bluff at Montauk Point and protect the Montauk Lighthouse by building a rock revetment may not be the best approach, according to East Hampton Town Councilman Pete Hammerle, who balked on Tuesday at the town becoming involved in the plan.
Under current law, in order for state funds to be funneled to the project, the strip of land where the rock revetment will be placed, now owned by the Montauk Historical Society, must be in public ownership. Either the town or the county could take title.
At the meeting on Tuesday, Town Supervisor Bill McGintee said county officials had indicated a willingness to take ownership, but that he would prefer to see the town do so.
State legislation that would allow the money to go directly to the historical society was initially rejected but has been reintroduced. If it passes, it will eliminate the need for the town to participate.
The Army Corps’ plan has been vehemently opposed by the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a national surfers’ advocacy group, which asserts that wave patterns will be changed at nearby Turtle Cove, a popular surfing spot.
On Tuesday, Mr. Hammerle and Councilman Brad Loewen also expressed concerns about how the revetment would affect the nearby shoreline.
“There’s a lot of controversy right now around this thing, and I would like to see how that all works out before I just automatically say yes,” Mr. Hammerle said. He said he would prefer to see the state legislation pass so that the town can remain uninvolved.
“There’s a lot of concerns about wave flow and tradition out there,” he said, referring to Surfriders’ resistance. In addition, he said, he fears that “armament around the point can cause major scouring.”
“Will Turtle Cove still be there 10 years after this goes up? Nobody’s sure,” Mr. Hammerle said.
“The modeling doesn’t necessarily indicate that’s going to occur,” Mr. McGintee said of further erosion. The Army Corps has completed extensive environmental review, he said, and “most of that has been vetted and heard.”
Councilman Loewen asked about the town’s liability should the revetment cause erosion nearby. “If we have the ‘500-year storm’ within the next 10 years,” he asked, “is the town going to be responsible for rebuilding the revetment or protecting the Lighthouse?”
“I would imagine that they’re pretty sure it’s going to work,” Mr. McGintee responded. The Army Corps has designed the revetment, he said, to overcome problems, such as wave incursion, that had occurred earlier, by increasing the structure’s height against the bluff and making it longer.
It is designed to last at least 50 years, he said. Montauk Point has eroded about 180 feet toward the base of the Lighthouse, which was constructed in 1796 by order of President George Washington.
John Jilnicki, the acting town attorney, has reviewed the agreement through which the town would take title to the land, Mr. McGintee said Tuesday, and raised no red flags.
“Plan B would be for the federal government to move the Lighthouse,” Mr. McGintee said. “And there’s been a lot of research, and a lot of concern that the Lighthouse would not withstand the move.”
But Councilman Hammerle questioned the conclusions of the Army Corps, which, he said, “has a history of screwing some things up.”
“The Army Corps was responsible for the levees down in New Orleans, and they failed,” Mr. Loewen said.
“Whether the state legislation passes, or the town accepts the deed, or the county does, the end result is the same,” Mr. McGintee said — the revetment will be built. “The only reason for the town not to take the property is if there are liability issues, or if we don’t want to deal with the feedback from the people who are opposed.”
The town should let the county take over the land, Mr. Hammerle said. If the revetment turns out to create a “terrible scouring,” he said, “and an environmental group sues, then we’re in the lawsuit because we own the revetment.”