Emergency Dredge Of Moriches Bay Moves Ahead With $12M In Funding

CENTER MORICHES, NY — It was great news for fishermen, boaters local businesses and the community as Rep. Lee Zeldin announced this week that he had secured $12 million in federal funding to complete an emergency dredge of Moriches Inlet.

The fiscal year 2018 Army Corps of Engineers Workplan, recently released, included the $12 million in funding for the completion of the Army Corps-approved emergency dredging of Moriches Inlet; sand removed from Moriches Inlet will be placed at Smith Point County Park to address beach erosion, Zeldin said.

Zeldin has worked for months to address the situation. In March, he was joined byelected officials, local small business owners, boaters and fishermen to call out for an emergency dredge of the inlet. At the event, he took a look the inlet’s dangerous navigational conditions, after a series of brutal winter storms, firsthand.

In April, Zeldin's request to perform emergency dredging of the Moriches Inlet was given the green light; the emergency declaration kicked off the process of coordinating funding and permits so dredging vessels cold begin work.

“The approval of funding for the emergency dredging of Moriches Inlet is great news for our coastal economy, commercial and recreational fishermen and all whose livelihoods rely on the vitality of our communities’ waterways,” Rep. Lee Zeldin said. “I will continue to work with the Army Corps of Engineers and all affected by the deteriorated state of Moriches Inlet to complete this emergency dredge.”

“I just want to thank Congressman Zeldin for his efforts in coordinating the emergency dredging project in Moriches Inlet, and Bay,” said Joe Tangel, owner of King Cod Fishing in Center Moriches. “It is a great relief for boaters and fishermen in the area to know that something will finally be done to ensure our safety and economic viability.”

The reason for the urgency, all agreed, was that a number of strong winter storms resulted in significant shoaling of Moriches Inlet — the inlet provides critical access to the Atlantic Ocean and has allowed some boats to bypass the shoaling problems of Moriches Bay.

A closure of the inlet would have dealt a major blow to marine related businesses across eastern Suffolk County and present a danger to boaters' safety, with dangerous navigational conditions at the inlet, Zeldin said.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine agreed that the issue was critical. "This bay needs to be dredged. The intracoastal waterway needs to be dredged — and if anyone has seen the pictures that inlet will close up. We need to keep that inlet open."

Wessthampton Beach Mayor Maria Moore agreed. "Thank you, Congressman Zeldin for being our voice on this very important issue. It is critical that we get this done for boater safety, for our commercial fishermen, and for our local economy."

Patch courtesy photo.