WASHINGTON — The recent call by New York’s senators for up to $1 billion in storm protection projects will have to go through a federal agency already facing a $60 billion backlog.
The US Army Corps of Engineers gets to spend $5 billion a year on projects, money that has to be shared by the whole nation.
But Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are hoping to get the extra money through a special spending bill dedicated to Hurricane Sandy that would allow the projects to leapfrog to the front of the line.
“Just like in Hurricane Katrina, the Army Corps has to jump-start the already-authorized projects,” Schumer said.
Schumer and Gillibrand have carved out 120 miles of the New York coast for storm reinforcement — such as beaches, dunes and flood walls — to protect more than 200,000 people in the region.