Buffalo, NY (WBEN) The US Army Corps of Engineers has issued an official Declaration of Emergency to activate its Emergency Operations Center to assist Lake Ontario communities in the event that Lake Ontario water levels continue rising to flood levels.
"As Lake Ontario's water levels continue to climb, knowing that we are prepared to handle a repeat of 2017's historic flooding could not be more important. This Declaration of Emergency will ensure that the Army Corps of Engineers is locked and loaded in the event of more flooding, ready to handle any emergency," says Senator Chuck Schumer. "With the risk of flooding rising by the day, we cannot afford to push our luck. I want to thank the Army Corps for its quick response to my request and for preparing in advance to bolster state and local flood response teams by mobilizing federal resources to Lake Ontario."
Schumer explained that, according to the USACE, Lake Ontario water levels have risen 6 inches over the last month and are forecast to rise another 11 inches as it continues to get warmer, placing residents of neighboring communities at a major risk of flooding.
Schumer explained that the Declaration of Emergency activates the Buffalo USACE's EOC and makes USACE subject matter experts available to provide direct technical assistance to town, country and state emergency response efforts. Specifically, the Buffalo District signed a Declaration of Emergency letter, and elevated the Emergency Operations Center from Level IV, Steady State Operations, to Level III, Monitoring Operations, the same level that was used in 2017 when technical assistance and flood control measures were provided to Lake Ontario communities. Schumer detailed that this includes providing review and recommendations in support of state and local efforts on flood fight techniques and emergency construction methods, inspecting existing flood protection projects and structurally threatened dams to identify problem areas and recommend corrective measures, providing hydraulic analysis, geotechnical evaluations, topography and stream data, maps, and historic flood or storm information.
Schumer explained, in 2017, many communities along the southern shore of Lake Ontario suffered significant flooding and related property damage, economic dislocation and significant negative impacts to quality of life. Prior to the flooding, Schumer successfully called on the USACE to activate its Emergency Operations Center, allowing the USACE to assist New York State in response efforts and deploy technical assistance teams. Additionally, Schumer helped facilitate a "General Permit", signed by the USACE and NYSDEC in 2017, as well. Schumer also played a paramount role in securing aid for these communities in the wake of the flooding, including arranging for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deploy two expert federal mitigation teams to Lake Ontario communities to help address the flooding issues and successfully pushing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to issue a major disaster declaration, which enabled federal recovery and repair funding to flow to Jefferson, Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Wayne, Cayuga, and Monroe Counties.
