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FAIR HARBOR DUNE ACTION COMMUNITY MEETING REPORTSUMMARY Fair Harbor beach, particularly at the eastern end, is in poor shape. Coastal Planning and Engineering, our beach monitoring contractor, recommended that Fair Harbor begin the permitting process for another beach replenishment. On June 18, 2000, a public meeting was held in the Firehouse to share information, determine community sentiment, and gather ideas for action. The meeting was well attended, showing the concern over the state of the beach. There was an overwhelming sentiment towards initiating action on three fronts.
The Fair Harbor Beach Erosion Control District (FHBECD) committee welcomes additional comments. Please contact Erica Fried/Feder 583-8180. BACKGROUND In response to the storms that occurred in 1992/1993, Fair Harbor joined with Saltaire and Dunewood in a project to dredge sand from offshore and replenish the beach. The cost to Fair Harbor was about 1 million dollars, funded with a ten year bond issue, to be paid up around 2004. With interest expense, the cost came to approximately 2 million dollars, which is roughly $500/house per year for ten years. The project was forecast to have a life expectancy of ten years, after which the sand would be gone. Initial performance of the project exceeded expectations, according to our consultant, due to a large "slug" of sand migrating towards the west. For the first few years, the volume of onshore plus offshore sand increased, and many areas had an extremely wide beach. Unfortunately, over the past two years, our fortunes have changed, and there have been large losses in onshore plus offshore sand volume. Although Saltaire remains in good shape, Dunewood is close to pre-project conditions, and Fair Harbor has lost much of its sand. Our consultant informs that situations tend to migrate towards the west, so it is likely that the Western end of Fair Harbor as well as Saltaire will soon experience the beach loss currently being experienced at our eastern end. One third of the originally deposited sand is gone, but this loss is focussed at the eastern end. Most of the sand in question, which determines our fate, lie offshore. The November 1999 beach monitoring report showed a severe offshore sand loss that forecast the loss of our beach this spring. Following the replenishment, houses were constructed on the replenished sand. While this is consistent with the rights of the respective owners to use their property, it has created problems for future projects, since current federal and state coastal policy seeks to discourage such dune development, and it also exposes Federal Flood Insurance to repetitive losses. Promotion of development has been a major issue impeding the Army Core of Engineers Interim Project (IP) and may impede our obtaining of permits to do sand replenishment. The seeking of permits for sand replenishment is expected to take approximately two years and cost $80,000 to $100,000 split over the participating communities. Assuming a one-third share for Fair Harbor, yields a cost of $75/house. The obtaining of permits does not commit us to actually do sand replenishment, which is a much more expensive process. Having permits does put us in a position to take rapid emergency action to address further beach loss. The FHBECD committee recommends this step. The action will be to survey potential sand "borrow sites," select a most attractive project formulation, do environmental impact studies, and obtain permits. It is not guaranteed that we will be successful in obtaining permits. The permitting is a contingency plan. The IP is still pending. If the IP goes forward, than local action will not be necessary. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been presented to the public for comment. Some environmental groups and agencies oppose the project and have presented critical comments. Some necessary New York State support has diminished. The most prominent stumbling block has been the possible promotion of additional development. The Army Core of Engineers is following up by identifying and evaluating in detail each property on which development might occur. At this point, the IP is uncertain. MEETING DETAILS The following covers highlights and some of the new ideas presented.
Revised: 01/14/04 |
