Lake Ontario shoreline declared disaster area

“This Major Disaster Declaration for New York State is an important step to help the communities near Lake Ontario recover from the record flooding this past year,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This designation unlocks important FEMA funding to repair damaged infrastructure and helps ensure that the Lake Ontario shoreline is better protected against future flooding. I will continue to do everything I can to make sure that the residents hurt by this severe flooding have all the resources they need to fully rebuild.”

• Called on IJC to Increase Dam Outflows – Senators Schumer and Gillibrand wrote to the IJC May 2nd urging the IJC to use their authority under Criterion H14 to take every and all actions possible to mitigate flood risks to at-risk homeowners – including increasing maximum possible outflows at the Moses-Saunders dam to lower Lake Ontario water.
• Secured Army Corps of Engineers Assistance – Senator Schumer wrote to the Army Corps of Engineers May 2nd to request the Army Corps activate and mobilize to help join in the flood protection efforts.  In reply to Senator Schumer’s letter the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on May 3rd issued a Declaration of Emergency designation order, allowing the USACE to activate their Emergency Operations Center to (EOC) to assist the NYS agencies response efforts and deploy technical assistance teams.
• Secured Expedited Approvals for Emergency Flood Protection Construction –   Senator Schumer in a May 3rd letter calls on the Army Corps of Engineers and the NYS DEC to issue a joint “General Permit” that will allow property owners, towns, villages, and counties impacted by flooding to make emergency storm protection measures without going through the longer study and review permit process.  The Army Corps agreed with Senator Schumer’s request and issued the Joint Permit, allowing towns or property owners to quickly do things like repairing or reinforcing break walls or other shoreline protection.
• Arranged for Army Corps of Engineers Technical Teams to Deploy to Irondequoit, Greece, Webster, Hamlin and other towns – As a result of the Army Corps’ Declaration of Emergency that Senators Schumer helped secured, the Army Corps deployed engineers and technical expert teams to Towns including Kendall, Hamlin, Greece, Irondequoit, Webster, Sodus, and Huron beginning on May 12th to instruct State Emergency personal on the best way to design flood protections.  Also, the Army Corps deployed over 170,000 sandbags to NYS towns and homeowners.
• Called on Federal SBA to Approve any Assistance Request by NYS – Senator Schumer writes to the U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator on May 9th to quickly approve any forthcoming requests for SBA homeowner and business disaster loan assistance if and when requested by New York State.
• Called on FEMA to Approve any Assistance Request by NYS – Senators Schumer and Gillibrand wrote to the FEMA Acting Administrator on May 18th to be ready to act should New York State make an official request to the federal government for disaster assistance.
• Helped Secure Nearly $10M Federal CDBG Block Grant money going to Communities for Flood Damage repairs – $10 million in funding announced in May is almost exclusively funded with Federal CDBG block grants Schumer helped secure for New York State in the federal budget.  This federal CDBG funding is being allocated by New York State to towns and communities to repair roads, floodwalls, and public infrastructure
• Led Charge for Army Corps to Approve Town of Greece’s Erosion Mitigation Project Application – Senator Schumer wrote to Army Corps June 14th to push the Army Corps to accept Greece’s application to partner with the Army Corps to pursue the development of an Erosion Mitigation project to protect the Town’s coastline.
• June 25th – Schumer Met with Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo to reiterate his support to push for any and all available federal assistance.
• July 6th – Schumer writes to FEMA Administrator Brock Long to reiterate his push for FEMA to act on any disaster assistance application submitted

Dear Administrator Long: 

We write to urge the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to stand ready to support any expedited requests from New York State for disaster assistance for communities affected by ongoing flooding along Lake Ontario. With lake levels not expected to recede for weeks, making it very difficult to get a full accounting of damage incurred, we urge FEMA to stand ready to support any forthcoming requests for expedited assistance without a full field damage assessment.

As you know, the United States’ Lake Ontario coastline has experienced ongoing severe flooding for several months now, with record-high lake levels caused by historic precipitation and spring melt-off. The flooding has shut down businesses, damaged homeowner property and public infrastructure, and eroded away land and shoreline protections. Relief is still not yet in sight, as Lake Ontario is forecasted to slowly decrease but remain at high levels throughout the summer.  Therefore, FEMA should be prepared to work with New York State and be as flexible as possible should the state submit an expedited request for disaster assistance for the communities impacted by the Lake Ontario flooding.

As costs continue to mount for homeowners, counties, and municipalities, federal assistance from FEMA could be vital in ensuring that communities are able to repair damage, clean up debris, and undertake crucial mitigation work. We are grateful for the attention that the federal government has historically given to quickly responding to disasters impacting New York State. In that spirit, we urge you to stand ready to support any requests from the state for expedited disaster assistance.

Sincerely,

Charles E. SchumerUnited States Senator

Kirsten GillibrandUnited States Senator