Beach restoration using beach compatible sand from a suitable off-shore source is a logical extension of the existing Village Coastal Management Program that should be undertaken after issuance of the appropriate permits and consensus in the community.

1. The Realities of Beach Restoration in Quogue
#justsayyestobeachnourishment
www.quoguebeaches.org
REALITY # 1: The proposed permit covers the entire 2.7 mile oceanfront of Quogue and can be used both before and
after an emergency. The proposed permit provides complete flexibility in addressing the chronic erosion that is adversely
impacting over 2 miles or 11,000 feet of Quogue’s oceanfront.
REALITY # 2: Beach restoration mimics natural processes & strengthens the beach, dune & barrier island system to resist
flooding, erosion & breaching. Beach restoration restores artificially degraded beaches with beach compatible sand.
Beach restoration is in widespread use on Long Island & throughout the United States because it restores natural systems
that have been artificially impacted using native beach sand that most closely matches the natural restorative processes.
REALITY # 3: Beach restoration is the most cost effective, environmentally sensitive & resilient method of protecting,
preserving & enhancing barrier islands, beaches & dunes, which protect the mainland of Quogue from ocean overwash
and breaching that would have catastrophic consequences in the Village of Quogue. 80% of the Village of Quogue’s $3
billion market value or a market value of $2.4 billion is currently located within the floodplain. A breach of the barrier
island would have as devastating consequences on the mainland as it would on Dune Road. The potential project cost of
$15 million is a prudent investment in light of the extraordinary value of the at risk areas in Quogue. Beach restoration is
approved in 19 different locations on the south shore of Long Island from Coney Island to Montauk. For example, the
project in West Hampton Dunes fully protected all of the 300 homes, infrastructure & $700 million tax base in that
community during Superstorm Sandy. In contrast, when left unprotected this same area lost 190 homes in the 1992
Nor’easter and its aftermath, reducing the total value to less than $300,000.
REALITY # 4: Scientifically documented studies have examined 50 years of shoreline history, which concludes there is a
sand deficit of 500,000 cubic yards along more than two (2) miles of Quogue’s Atlantic ocean shoreline & that the entire
shoreline is losing 60,000 cubic yards (3,000 dump truck loads) of sand per year. Every responsible scientific and
engineering study has concluded that the shoreline stretching from Hampton Bays to Quogue is severely compromised as
the result of sand starvation by Shinnecock Inlet. This area will continue to experience overwash and potential breaching
without proactive steps to restore the sand supply through beach nourishment. Despite the mild winter of 2014-2015, the
Town of Southampton in conjunction with Suffolk County & NYSDEC spent nearly $1 million for a temporary, emergency
levee system at Tiana Beach covering less than ½ mile feet of shoreline.
REALITY # 5: Only the issuance of the permit will reserve this valuable sand resource for the Village of Quogue & its
residents. Denial of this permit will put that 1.1 million yards at risk for use by other municipalities. Currently, this
borrow site is being used for both the Village of West Hampton Dunes & Smith Point County Park on Fire Island. Reacting
to emergency situations is always more costly, & environmentally disruptive than proactive measures designed to
strengthen & enhance natural protective features such as dunes, beaches & the barrier islands.
REALITY #6: Sand bypass is underway at Shinnecock Inlet since 2004 under the authority of the Shinnecock Inlet
navigation project paid for by the US Army Corps of Engineers, NYSDEC & Suffolk Department of Public Works. Over the
last decade this project has deposited approximately 800,000 cubic yards of sand in the vicinity of Roads K & L in Hampton
Bays. This sand moves westward towards Quogue at the rate of approximately 500 feet per year. In another sixty years
(six decades) the first grains of sand will begin to deposit in the Village of Quogue. The Village will continue lose 60,000
cubic yards per year or 3.6 million cubic yards over that 60 years.
REALITY # 7: Quogue’s unique heritage & coastline must be protected. The Village maintains contact with the Town of
Southampton & presently, there is no Town plan to complement Quogue’s efforts. In fact, like the residents in
Bridgehampton/Watermill Beach Erosion Control District (3 miles of Atlantic Ocean shoreline) & Sagaponack Beach
Erosion Control District (2.7 miles), Quogue is proposing to create a Beach Erosion Control tax district.
REALITY # 8: The proposed beach restoration program is precisely what the CARP plan recommends, specifically
strengthening dunes, beaches & the barrier island. Preserving & enhancing naturally protective features (such as dunes,
beaches & barrier islands) is identified as a primary action in all CARP plans and prudent coastal management.
REALITY # 9: Quogue has a robust and comprehensive Coastal Management Plan including land use controls, structure
setbacks & aggressive dune building. In 2013/2014 the Village moved approximately 10,000 cubic yards of sand from the
beach to the dune to strengthen & enhance the dune.
SUMMARY - Beach restoration using beach compatible sand from a suitable off-shore source is a logical extension of the
existing Village Coastal Management Program that should be undertaken after issuance of the appropriate permits and
consensus in the community.
Supporting the issuance of a permit for beach restoration is the only environmentally & economically
responsible decision. The permit in no way obligates the Village to construct a project. The issuance of the
permit reserves 1.1 million cubic yards of beach compatible sand & the Village’s ability to protect its
residents. Without a beach restoration permit, the Village is left to the whims of politicians and bureaucrats
who have no stake or material interest in the protection of Quogue.
#justsayyestobeachnourishment - www.quoguebeaches.org
Paid for by the Save the Dunes and Beach Foundation - a 501(c)3 NPO