Katko, Morelle want coastal resiliency study completed

Amid another year of record water levels on Lake Ontario, Republican John Katko and Democrat Joe Morelle have introduced bipartisan legislation to require a Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study.

They said the proposal would allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work with the eight Great Lakes states — including New York — on assessing threats and resiliency measures for coastal communities.

Katko, R-24, Camillus, whose district includes Wayne County, and Morelle, D-24, Irondequoit, whose district covers Monroe County, have been joined by a group of 24 Democrats and Republicans from Great Lakes states in introducing the legislation.

“High water levels continue to cause harm to lake shore communities here in central New York, and throughout the Great Lakes ecosystem,” said Katko late last week. “We need to continue to provide resources to immediately address this crisis, but we must also study the long-term impact of high water levels and severe weather on the Great Lakes coastline. This bipartisan legislation provides the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the necessary tools to conduct research and to analyze the economic and physical well being of our coastal communities.”