An Electronic Newsletter 
of EEA's Environmental Consulting Activities
Summer 2002

with additional New York offices in:
Stony Brook
(631) 751-4600
Altamont
(518) 861-8586

e-mail addresses:
General:
mailto:eea@eeaconsultants.com

Individual:
First initial and last name
@eeaconsultants.com

EEA services include 
Phase I ESAs, Haz-Mat
Testing and Remediation, Wetlands Delineation 
and Creation, Natural
Resources Inventories,
Marine Ecology Studies,
Air Quality and Noise
studies, and Environmental Management System (ISO 14000) implementation.

Visit our web site at http://www.eeaconsultants.com/

For information or
quotes contact:

Phase I ESAs
Richard Fasciani

Phase II/III Haz-Mat
Testing and Remediation
Nicholas Recchia, CPG

       LONG ISLAND'S SOUTHERN SHORES
                  Studies in Marine Ecology

Summer in the Hamptons

EEA’s ecology group spend not only summer, but fall, winter and spring out on Long Island’s infamous east end. Summer on the "in beaches", parties and an active night life, right? Not exactly. ……EEA (as ecological subcontractors to URS Greiner/Moffat and Nichol, JV) is currently working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on the Atlantic Coast of Long Island: Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point, New York: Storm Damage Reduction Reformulation Study. In response to the US Congress and New York State, the USACE is developing a comprehensive, long-term solution for hurricane and storm damage reduction within the floodplain from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk.

The area of study extends 83 miles along the south shore of Long Island, encompassing the barrier island’s oceanic and bay communities. The barrier island is a dynamic transition zone between land and sea, subject to sudden disturbances. Flooding and erosion of the barrier islands have the potential to severely impact the mainland communities bordering Shinnecock, Moriches and Great South Bays. The habitats of the barrier island vary from sandy shorelines to vegetated marshes and tidal pools. This barrier island is an important component of Long Island’s ecosystem, functioning as a protective buffer to a highly productive estuarine system.

‘In-Seine’ Sampling –
Trawling, Grabbing, Trapping and Pinging

A multitude of natural resource studies are being conducted in order to evaluate baseline conditions in the study area. EEA scientists are documenting the various ecosystems in order to assess the impacts of proposed actions. We hit the high seas of the Atlantic and the low seas of the bays to sample both offshore and inshore for finfish, invertebrates (animals without a backbone), vegetation and sediment. Sample collection includes state-of –the-art technology such as the acoustic profiling technique known as RoxAnn. RoxAnn uses sonar to interpret bathymetry, sediment type, benthic invertebrates and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV).

The Final Product

All of this information will be compiled into a document entitled Reformulation Report and EIS (Environmental Impact Statement). This report will include discussions on the proposed action, alternatives to the proposed action, a description of the affected environment and a description of the environmental consequences of alternatives. All levels of federal, state, and local government, as well as citizen groups and not-for-profit agencies, have been involved with the process of drafting this report. The Reformulation Report and EIS will be reviewed by these groups and a plan for the future of Long Island’s barrier island will be in motion.