Congresswoman Claudia Tenney Calls on State and Federal Agencies to Allow Dredging to Continue at Sandy Pond

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) today visited the Sandy Pond community to join local residents and officials in calling on state and federal agencies to allow a dredging project to continue in the area. This vitally important project will ensure boaters, residents and first responders continue to have critical access to Lake Ontario. The dredging project was halted after a Piping Plover bird was spotted several hundred feet away from the ingress and egress locations where the work was being conducted.

Tenney has sent letters to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calling on them to find a reasonable solution immediately that continues to preserve the natural habitat of the area while allowing dredging to continue.

"The inability to dredge is causing significant economic harm to this community and poses a clear threat to public safety. Dredging can be done safely and without harm to the environment, that’s why I’ve called on the New York DEC and U.S. Army Corps to allow this important work to continue immediately. I sincerely thank Cathy Goodnaugh, Nancy Ridgeway, other local officials, and the entire Sandy Pond community for their passionate advocacy and commitment to resolving this issue. Together we will continue to fight the bureaucracies in Washington and Albany to get this done so Sandy Pond can continue to prosper," said Tenney.

"We would like to thank Congresswoman Claudia Tenney for coming to speak on behalf of her efforts to help us dredge the Sandy Pond Channel going into Lake Ontario. The importance of Public Safety and Economic Development in this area is of utmost importance. We are so concerned with the hazard of the outer channel in Lake Ontario. It is extremely unsafe for boaters," said Cathy Goodnaugh, owner of Greene Point Marina. "SPCMA last effort to dredge was a conference call with all permitting agencies and we proposed Dredging with our equipment in economy mode, only access the dredge area from the North and only in 1-2' of water, hire a biologist to monitor the disposal site. We would only have had to dredge 3 days max to remove the approximately 100-250' of sand bar that threatens to close off the channel. This area is at least 3000' feet away from a known plover nest. The DEC stated that we would need to file a modification of our permit and a Piping Plover habitat take permit. This process could take up to 135 days, if approved.

"The Lake Ontario water levels as of today are at 245', making the operations of marinas and recreational boating almost impossible. This is a drastic change from 2019 when the water level reached 249.58 during our flood.

"Thank you again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to realize the importance of our issues here," Goodnaugh concluded.

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