Letter to Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary for Civil Works in the Department of the Army - Durbin, Duckworth, Mayor Lightfoot, Members Of Delegation, Urge Army Corps Of Engineers To Prioritize Funding For Chicago Shoreline Storm Damage Reduction Project

Letter

Dear Assistant Secretary Connor:

As you work to allocate the significant increase in Corps funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), we urge you to prioritize funding for the Chicago Shoreline Storm Damage Reduction Project by including $1.5 million in the upcoming IIJA Work Plan in order to complete the General Reevaluation Report (GRR) needed to expand the project and mitigate the significant impacts of climate change on the Chicago Shoreline.

Over the past two decades, the Army Corps of Engineers has worked closely with the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District to reconstruct approximately nine miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, protecting critical infrastructure from coastal storm damage. While the authorized project is nearly complete and is providing substantial benefits, Lake Michigan has experienced record high lake levels over the past several years, and several remaining areas of shoreline have experienced significant erosion, storm damage, and flooding as a result of damaging waves and surge. The City of Chicago has taken substantial emergency action to reduce additional damage to failed shore protection revetments and potential threats to life safety. However, the extent of the damage has underscored the critical need for a more comprehensive and long-term solution.

Since 2015, the City of Chicago has requested the Army Corps of Engineers complete a GRR to study the authorized project and the conclusions of the original feasibility report in order to assess federal interest in providing additional coastal protection along the shoreline. The study aims to reevaluate the currently authorized project to include several areas that have recently experienced significant coastal damage, including Juneway Terrace Beach and Park to Osterman Beach, Montrose Beach and Pier, North Avenue to Oak Street Beach, 67th Street at South Shore Drive which includes the La Rabida Children's Hospital, 71st to 75th Street, and Rainbow Beach, which includes the South Water Purification Plant.

Given the extent of coastal damage from recent record lake levels, it is urgent that the Army Corps of Engineers move forward with this reevaluation study to identify long-term solutions needed to protect critical infrastructure along the shoreline. In order to do so, we request that $1.5 million be included in the upcoming IIJA Army Corps Work Plan to complete a GRR of the Chicago Shoreline Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project. The City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District have both already indicated their shared commitment to cost sharing the study, as required by law.

Both houses of the United States Congress have expressed their support for advancing the Shoreline Project GRR, most recently in the FY21 Omnibus Appropriations Act and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 that were passed in December 2020. It is clear that there is a broad acknowledgement that additional efforts to address these serious shoreline issues are necessary. Additionally, the Biden Administration has indicated its support for this study as evidenced by its inclusion in the President's FY22 Budget Request.

Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to working closely with you on the execution of this desperately needed study, and continuing our long and productive partnership to address the shoreline.

Sincerely,