Federal investigators warn in a new report that the Army Corps of Engineers is not adequately preparing for the effects of climate change on flood-protection projects, including those planned for the five boroughs.

The report released last week by the Government Accountability Office comes as the Corps —  which plans and builds many federally funded flood-prone projects around the country — contemplates a controversial $52.6 billion coastal flood-protection plan that could remake waterfront areas of the city, from Upper Manhattan to Jamaica Bay.

The blueprint, which proposes a series of coastal floodwalls, levees, berms and storm-surge gates, was conceived to protect against future storms on the magnitude of Hurricane Sandy, the October 2012 “superstorm” whose storm surge devastated several neighborhoods, from the Rockaways and Coney Island to Lower Manhattan and the Staten Island shore.

The GAO report notes the Corps — which has built multiple costly projects that have failed — needs to plan more for climate change. The GAO lists 14 recommendations, including adding resilience into cost studies.

In a letter accompanying the report, GAO Natural Resources and Environment Director Alfredo Gómez wrote the Corps should act to “reduce potential future losses by planning and preparing for potential climate hazards, such as extreme rainfall, sea level rise, and drought.” 

Many entities that submitted comments to the Corps support the plan, including city and state officials. Some view this new push from GAO for better climate planning as having the potential to improve the plan as it moves forward — namely, taking a new approach.

“This echoes a lot of what we’ve been advocating for,” said Kate Boicourt, director of the New York-New Jersey climate resilient coasts and watersheds program at the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, which had pointed out problems with the plan. 

According to the Corps, a “considerable amount of work” remains on the study for the New York regional coastal protection plan. The plan will require state and local approval as well as federal funding before work starts along the waterfront.

Long Run Value?

Rob Freudenberg, vice president of the energy and environment program at the Regional Plan Association, said that considering multiple flood threats and how climate change could make them worse might result in the Corps coming to a different conclusion about the best form of protection for the New York region.

“The report demonstrates how critical and urgent it is to adapt the Army Corps of Engineers to the reality of climate impacts,” Freudenberg said. “It asks, ‘How can we get more value out of Army Corps projects in the long run?’”

Several environmental advocates, city and state officials and others last year criticized the Corps’ proposal for the New York region for overemphasizing risks of storm surge and failing to address other types of flood risks — including from rain, tides and groundwater. They also warned that the Corps underestimated the extent of future sea level rise in the region, which could worsen storm surge and other types of flooding and undermine the protective elements the Corps envisions.

“I think, without a doubt, if these 14 things were implemented, the plan that came out would be better,” said Sam Jackson, co-president of the nonprofit Metro Flood Defense, adding the Corps will need more time and funding in order to make it happen.

In an emailed statement, project manager Bryce Wisemiller and chief of the environmental analysis branch Peter Weppler indicated the Corps would “effectively integrate these recommendations into flood risk management studies and projects it manages.” They said those projects include the reinforced dunes they’re constructing in the Rockaways and the seawall on Staten Island, as well as the regional coastal protection plan.

The GAO admitted such planning could result in additional costs and would require dedicated staff, but could avoid expensive future upgrades to infrastructure that has been damaged or breached by floodwaters.

The Army Corps spent at least $19 billion a year on work related to flood risk protection, from 2014 through 2023. During those years, Congress also appropriated an additional $46.1 billion for repairs to damaged flood projects and to build new projects in disaster-affected areas.