Egan & Golden, on behalf of the Village of Mastic Beach this week moved to intervene in the case,  National Audubon Society, Inc v. US Fish & Wildlife Service and US Army Corps of Engineers. Firm partner and Village Attorney, Brian T. Egan, presented his oral argument to the assigned US District Court Judge Sandra Feuerstein this morning in the US District Courthouse in Central Islip.

The Audubon Society had sued the Army Corps of Engineers and the US Fish & Wildlife Service to stop the construction of the $47.9 million dunes on Fire Island to allegedly protect the breeding grounds of piping plovers. The Court had granted the Audubon Society’s Temporary Restraining Order and halted construction of the dunes. The Village of Mastic Beach is  located directly opposite the proposed dune project.

Egan argued today that any delay of the dune project will have a “devastating and incredibly negative impact on residents’ homes and the infrastructure of the village”. “Every day the project is delayed only intensifies the risk to our residents. There can be no real argument that the protection of a handful of migratory birds can justify the potential destruction of hundreds of peoples’ homes.”

Today Judge Feuerstein accepted the Village’s application and scheduled the Village’s request to be briefed by the parties. Opposition to the application is due at the end of October.

A link to media coverage is here