Letter: Bishop is Frustrated About Mattituck Inlet Management Too

This letter was written in response to a previously published

Dear Editor,

I am proud to represent the North Fork in Congress and appreciate the opportunity to respond directly to recent criticism of my record in the local media. I write knowing that reasonable people seek to form their opinions and statements based on facts, and I am confident that an impartial assessment of my record shows that I have been an effective representative of the interests of Southold and Riverhead.

First, experience has taught me that it is difficult to amend federal legislation to benefit a specific area; however, I was able to insert an amendment into the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act to permanently protect funding for the nationally-renowned Navy Junior ROTC program operating in the Southold, Mattituck, and Greenport School Districts. As part of this effort, I lobbied the Defense Department directly with a petition I organized in support of the program signed by over 1,000 residents. This program has been cited as among the finest in the country, and I am proud of the role I played in ensuring its future.

I hope the following list of some of the federal funding I have secured for the North Fork since first being elected in 2002 will disprove the assertion that I have "done nothing" for the community: in 2005, I secured a grant of $1.5 million to Southold Town to protect 58 acres along the Long Island Sound, formerly the Jackie Bittner property located between Goldsmith Inlet Park and Peconic Dunes County Park; in 2010, $500,000 to East End Health Alliance for their Health Information Technology Initiative; as part of a long term Highway Bill: $1 million to remediate road runoff in the Peconic Estuary Watershed and $240,000 to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety in Jamesport on Route 25. In 2006, $500,000 for a pedestrian connection project in Greenport; in 2004, $100,000 to renovate facilities at Eastern Long Island Hospital; and in 2010, $90,000 for improvements to Hashamomuck Cove. As part of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act I secured $3.89 million for the Greenport Wastewater Facility and $690,000 for the Orient Causeway, which was in danger of being swamped by Peconic Bay but is now well protected. 

Finally, Mattituck Inlet has been a focus for me since I took office. From 2003-2010 I secured $1.454 million in federal funds to advance dredging and other infrastructure improvements at Mattituck Inlet and Harbor using earmarks. This includes $700,000 to dredge the Inlet in 2004, the first time it had been dredged since 1990. That dredge cleared the channel to its authorized depth and width under federal law, and came in $92,000 under budget, something we should all applaud. Once the project was complete, the leftover funds were assigned by the Army Corps to support a necessary dredge of the Patchogue River for the Fire Island Ferries. Therefore, the widely-repeated accusation that funding was diverted to the South Fork, leaving the dredge unfinished, is simply not true. I hope that those who have been repeating this falsehood will cease doing so.

I share the frustration of the community with the delays in implementing the Section 111 Project for Mattituck Inlet, which I have consistently pushed forward both with earmarked funding totaling $300,000 and by advocating directly with the Army Corps. The Army Corps is currently conducting its periodic survey of the channel that is expected to be completed in April. It is important to note that the Corps' 2010 survey of the Inlet concluded that it had remained at the authorized depth and width over the six years since the '04 dredge. Pursuant to the Corps findings in this report, I will continue to work with local elected officials and stakeholders to see the project through despite severe cuts to the Army Corps budget and scarce federal resources, as well as a ban on earmarks put in place by Republican leadership in the House of Representatives.

I am proud of my work on behalf of the North Fork and its hardworking residents, and will continue to fight for the area's interests using every tool at my disposal. Again, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight.

Sincerely,

Tim Bishop
Member of Congress