President Obama and Congress are rightfully moving to provide federal assistance for those impacted by Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy.
Unfortunately in their zeal for action the Senate is proposing to go far beyond what is needed for disaster recovery, threatening the future health and vitality of our coastal beaches and communities by giving a blank check to the Corps of Engineers. Here's a few concerns in the proposed bill:
1. Makes significant policy changes affecting the entire country, allowing the Corps of Engineers to essentially build whatever they want with almost no oversight.
2. Continues the Corps' "one-size-fits-all" approach to coastal protection: dump as much sand as possible without regard to effectiveness or impacts to the natural environment and recreation.
3. Could bypass efforts that are already underway throughout the region to provide intelligent coastal planning that would help to avoid the next disaster.
4. Removes standard environmental protections and accountability by waiving the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).
5. Only a portion of the money is directed to those areas impacted by Sandy.
While the Corps clearly has a role in protecting coastal communities, we fear that the Corps will dredge and pump a bunch of sand on the beaches and call it a day, giving people a false sense of security and incentivizing business as usual, while setting us up for this very thing to happen again.
Please send a letter today to your representatives in Congress.