releases: https://courtney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/courtney-applauds-decision-noaa-uphold-eb-s-permit-application-begin
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://courtney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/courtney-applauds-decision-noaa-uphold-eb-s-permit-application-begin | Courtney Applauds Decision by NOAA to Uphold EBs Permit Application to Begin Utilizing ELDS | 2020-11-18 | 2020 | 2020-11 | Democrat | Senate | CT | Joe Courtney | C001069 | courtney.house.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, DCCongressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee onSeapower and Projection Forces, released the following statement today afterthe National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA)ruled to uphold General Dynamics Electric Boat's (EB) application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersto lawfully utilize the Eastern Long Island SoundDisposal Site (ELDS) for dredged materials.NOAA's decision will allow dredging work that is essential to EB's new SouthYard Assembly Buildingwhich will house upcoming construction for the new Columbia-class Submarine programto move forward,despite lingering, unfoundedlegal challenges to the ELDS levied by the State of New York. Therehas been a groundswell of input from small marinas, local and state officials, large stakeholders like Submarine Naval Base New London,Electric Boat, and many others, all strongly in favor of the sound selection of the ELDS,said Congressman Courtney.Today's decision by NOAAshouldn't come as a surprisethe EPA under President Obama took painstaking care to document both the environmental and economic impacts of the ELDS,the selection has been upheld in court,and approval of EB's permit application was criticaltonational security as the South Yard Assembly Building will house construction of the next-generation Columbia-class submarine.Nonetheless, following several failed and drawn-out legal challenges by the State of New York, thedecisionto approve EB's permitand put the ELDS to useis a welcome one. I'll continue to work with my colleagues in the Connecticut and Rhode Island delegations to ensure that the lawful, sound selection of the ELDS is upheld once and for all for the benefit of our region. The NOAA decision, which wasissued on Monday,soundly rejects New York's objections to Electric Boat's use of the ELDS for necessary dredging to support the Navy's Columbia class program.In its decision, NOAA cited Navy input that"If EBC is unable to proceed with the proposed action, the COLUMBIA program will be negatively impacted by a delayed construction schedule and an increase in costs. The Navy further warned thatthe use of any other site other than ELDS will not allow the dredging effort to be completed in the available dredging window, directly resulting in a delay to the required delivery of the first COLUMBIA Class submarine. For eastern Connecticut, dredging activity is essential to everything from boating and fishing, to submarine launch and construction, and moreand the ELDS is critical to that activity. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final designation establishing the ELDS in2017 under the ObamaAdministrationfollowing years of years of intense environmental reviews, robust public engagement, and diligent consideration of all views about the future of dredging in the region. The State of New York has levied several failed legal challenges against the environmentally sound selection of the ELDS. Most recently, in July,Rep. Courtney and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong applauded a ruling from theU.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled to uphold the lawful selection of the ELDS for dredged materials.Click hereto read more.OnSeptember 18, 2020, the State of New York filed a motion indicating its intention to appeal this decision, continuing its effortstooverturnmore than a decade's worth of work andblock the use of the ELDS. Rep. Courtney has worked for years to help build support amongst stakeholders across New England for the environmentally sound selection of the ELDS, and forEB's 2019 permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of EngineersthatwouldallowEB to place dredged material in the ELDS.In November of 2019, Courtney led a letter signed by the entire Connecticut and Rhode Island Congressional delegationsexpressing their continued strong support for the ELDS, and for EB's permit applicationthe approval of which was critical not just to eastern Connecticut's economy, but also to U.S. national security.Click hereto read Rep. Courtney's letter. Background On January 11, 2016,after a 10-year collaborative processinvolving the EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, the State of New York and the State of Connecticut, theDredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) for the region,was finalized. On December 6, 2016, EPA published its final ELDS selection rule in the federal register On August 17, 2017, the New York Department of State (DOS) filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court challenging EPA's final rule designating the ELDS Rep. Courtney organized the first stakeholders meeting to discuss Connecticut stakeholders' response to the lawsuit onOctober 19, 2017 In June of 2019, amid the ongoing legal challenge levied by the State of New York, Electric Boat submitted a permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting permission to utilize the ELDS as it worked to complete construction of the new South Yard Assembly Buildinga programcritical to U.S. national security, and to eastern Connecticut's manufacturing sector In November of 2019, Courtney led the Connecticut and Rhode Island Congressional delegations in a letter to Gen. ToddSemonite(Commanding General & Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, expressing their support for EB's permit application. According to the rules of the DMMP for the region, New York State had until December 27, 2019 to respond to EB's proposal to make use of the ELDS. On December 27, 2019, the New York DOSissuedan objection to EB's permit application. OnJanuary 24, 2020, Electric Boat filed an appealwith the US Department of Commerce through NOAA, the agencyresponsiblefor adjudicatinginterstate disputes about coastal resources. Following continued input throughout 2020, NOAA ruled on November 16, 2020 to uphold EB'spermit applicationon the basis of national security. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |