The 150-year-old Union Beach house that had become an iconic image, a symbol of the destruction and devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy. (Aristide Economopoulos | The Star-Ledger)

By Cassidy Grom and Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

More than five years after Hurricane Sandy slammed ashore in 2012, government agencies are still spit-balling new ideas to protect New York Harbor and surrounding areas from the next massive storm.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers presented six proposals for flood and storm protection earlier this week at meetings in New Jersey and New York. The Army Corps developed the plans as part of a $19 million study, for which it partnered with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

Most of the proposals employ surge barriers that span large waterways or shoreline based measures like levees and seawalls, according to their presentation documents. The agencies are still in the early planning stages and have yet to analyze the potential construction costs, but conservation groups are already anxious about the proposals’ long-term impacts.

Below, are the proposed plans.

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3D animation showing design concept for the NYC Outer Harbor Gateway Storm Barrier. This animation was used in PBS NOVA's "Megastorm Aftermath". (CH2M 3D Visualization Studio)

1: A 5-mile long harbor barrier

The first of the Army Corps' proposals is the simplest. It consists of building a five-mile long storm barrier across the entrance to outer New York harbor, from Sandy Hook to Breezy Point.

That massive barrier, essentially a gate, would be supplemented by a levee and berm system from Sandy Hook to Long Branch, and a similar system from Breezy Point to Far Rockaway on the New York side.

A smaller barrier and levee system would be built at Throgs Neck between The Bronx and Queens, where Long Island Sound flows to the East River.

Click here for maps of all proposals.

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2: Five inner harbor gates

The Army Corps' second proposal ditches the massive outer harbor barrier for smaller storm barriers in the inner harbor.

The Throgs Neck barrier and levee system would still be built. Barriers would also be built on:

The Arthur Kill between Perth Amboy and Staten Island

The Narrows between Staten Island and Brooklyn, that would be placed just behind the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Jamaica Bay between Brooklyn and Queens, with an extensive levee supplement

Pelham Bay in The Bronx.

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Proposal 3B from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Presentation

3: Six small barriers and lots of levees

The third proposal would similarly focus on small inner harbor storm barriers and levees. This version would build storm barriers and levees for the Arthur Kill, Jamaica Bay and Pelham Bay.

Small barriers and levees would also be built on the Kill Van Kull between Bayonne and Staten Island, on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn and on Newtown Creek between Brooklyn and Queens.

Measures for strengthening long stretches of shoreline, possibly with a seawall, in Jersey City, Manhattan's West Side and East Harlem round out the proposal.

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Proposal 4 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

4: Focus on the densely populated waterways

This proposal is most heavily focused on protecting the New York side of the Hudson. New Jersey's protections would be limited to a barrier and levee system on the Hackensack River and extensive shoreline strengthening in the Jersey City area.

In New York, storm barriers and levees would be placed at Jamaica Bay, Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek and Pelham Bay. Shorelines in Manhattan's West Side and in East Harlem would also be strengthened.

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Proposal 5 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

5: No barriers, just stronger shorelines

The final proposal would have no storm barriers and instead focuses on strengthening shorelines. The Jersey City, East Harlem and Manhattan West Side areas would all be included for shoreline strengthening as well as Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek. The proposal also calls for a flood prevention perimeter to be built around Moonachie and other low-lying communities in the Meadowlands.

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Or, do nothing

Another formal proposal is to leave the New York Harbor exactly as it is, and let Mother Nature run its course.

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Using natural protections

In each of the Army Corps' proposals (except for the do nothing option,) the major measures like storm barriers and seawalls are supplemented by natural flood prevention techniques. These include expanding and protecting tidal marshes, freshwater wetlands and oyster reefs, all of which serve as buffers against storm surges and flooding.

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The storm surge from Hurricane Sandy breached the oceanfront in Mantoloking, as shown in this photo taken two days after the Oct. 29, 2012, storm. Five years after the storm, many residents say they still are not home yet. (Andrew Mills | The Star-Ledger)

Protecting against the next Sandy

The threat of future storms is amplified by sea level rise, which is being driven by climate change. In its study, the Army Corps estimates that the water surrounding Manhattan's Battery Park will rise between one foot and seven feet over the next century.

Those rising seas place nearly 16 million people at risk in 25 counties across New Jersey and New York, according to the Army Corps. The at-risk area includes three major airports, five major rail systems and the largest port on the East Coast among a multitude of other critical infrastructure.

The benchmark for just how vulnerable the area is to flooding is 2012's Hurricane Sandy. The storm ravaged New Jersey, killing 40 people in the state and leaving an estimated 50,000 homeowners and renters homeless. Nearly $16 billion in federal money has been invested in the area around New York Harbor since Sandy, according to the Army Corps.

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What will this cost?

The Army Corps said that there are currently no cost estimates for any of the proposed ideas. Those estimates will be made later, as the study develops.

Cost estimates for portions of the ideas, however, have been made in previous studies. In June 2013, the New York City Economic Development Corporation published a coastal resilience study that found a harbor-wide barrier system would cost up to $25 billion to build. A separate 2013 study by the same office found that building a barrier just on the Gowanus Canal would cost about $108 million.

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Weeks Marine, contracted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, works on the dune construction and beach replenishment in Margate, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (Tim Hawk | For NJ.com)

What happens next?

Army Corps officials stressed that this is the very early stages of developing a plan for the harbor. The Army Corps is currently collecting comments on its proposal and shaping the ideas into a draft report that is targeted to be released later this year. A final report will be completed in 2021, and the Army Corps hopes to present its final options to Congress in Summer 2022.

Of course, none of this is guaranteed to happen. Any of the three agencies involved --- NJDEP, NYDEC and the Army Corps --- can cancel the plan at anytime.

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Construction of storm surge barrier near the intersection of MRGO and Intracoastal Waterway and Industrial (IHNC) Canals, Eastern New Orleans, Louisiana. (Wiki Creative Commons Photo).

Where else are there storm barriers?

A five-mile long gate across the mouth of New York Harbor would not be the first time states have used giants storm barriers to ward off flooding from major storms.

Such systems have been used in a variety of low-lying places, from New Bedford, Massachusetts and New Orleans, Louisiana in the U.S. to a massive system of storm surge barriers in The Netherlands.

Still, every estuary system is different. The Army Corps cautioned that solutions that work elsewhere may not fit for the New York Harbor area.

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Sand dredged from the ocean floor is spread near Fredericksburg Avenue in Margate for the dune construction and beach replenishment project, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Weeks Marine, contracted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, is doing the work. (Tim Hawk | For NJ.com)

'A big, catastrophic system that is destined to fail'

Envronmental groups strongly oppose many of the Army Corps' plans and instead recommend more natural approaches to fortify New York Harbor.

Any storm barrier will likely have a negative impact on the estuary’s health, risking several species’ livelihoods, said Greg Remaud, the NY/NJ Baykeeper.

“It is just a big, catastrophic system that is destined to fail when it comes to the five-mile floodgate,” Remaud said.

He warned that surge barriers, which were recommended in all but one proposal, pose an “in water” threat, meaning instead of keeping flood waters away from coastal neighborhoods, it might actually trap water and flood adjacent properties.

Bill Sheehan, the Hackensack Riverkeeper, said many of the plans for construction in the water are unsustainable and likely to erode due to poor maintenance and mother nature’s forces, resulting in more wasted tax money. He explained that man made structures are simply “Band-Aid-like repairs” for the larger problem: people living close to the shore and on natural wetlands, which sponge-like attributes soak up water during floods.

If the agencies decide to build a gate on the Hackensack River, Sheehan said his group “will hold them up in court for so long that it never gets built.”

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Environmentalists' recommendations

Sheehan recommended government money should instead be invested into a retreat fund where governments could assist residents in relocating during storms. New Jersey's Blue Acres program, the state's effort to buyout flood-prone properties, has closed on more than 600 houses since the program was launched in 2013.

Other states, like Texas and Louisiana, have implemented buyout programs to help residents permanently move away from the dangerous coast. New York embarked on a similar endeavor after Hurricane Sandy, acquiring almost 300 homes in Oakwood Beach in Staten Island at the cost of $122 million, and taking down almost 200 by October 2016 according to a report by Curbed. Now the once-populated neighborhood is an example of nature reclaiming its stake on the coast — and functions as a natural buffer for potentially devastating hurricanes.

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What do NJ congressmen think of it?

A spokesman for Rep. Donald Payne said that the Congressman has not yet had a change to view the proposals and take a position.

Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Bob Menendez and Rep. Frank Pallone’s offices did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

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Looking for more about N.J.'s rising seas?

Ever-rising: A 500-year-flood every 5 years? Rutgers experts say it's coming

See the effects: Why sections of the Pine Barrens are turning into 'ghost forests'

Beyond sea level rise: N.J. is one of the fastest warming states in the U.S. Here's what that means

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.