Environment

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Kathleen Seemar removes a U.S. flag from her home, which was flooded during superstorm Sandy, as she started the cleanup process, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Brick, N.J. Three days after Sandy slammed the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, New York and New Jersey struggled to get back on their feet, the U.S. death toll climbed to more than 80, and more than 4.6 million homes and businesses were still without power. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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Brooke Clarkin tries to salvage some personal items from her mother's home in Staten Island, New York, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Her mother's home was not only flooded to the ceiling, but was swept off its foundation and was carried to the other side of the street. The National Guard and federal emergency management officials will deliver 1 million meals and bottled water to New York areas hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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Eileen Miley looks for magnets that might be salvageable at her home that was destroyed by flooding during Superstorm Sandy in Staten Island, New York, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. The National Guard and federal emergency management officials will deliver 1 million meals and bottled water to New York areas hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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NYPD police officers perform a search in high grasses that were flooded during a storm surge, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Arrochar neighborhood of the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A man waits for gasoline, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A yacht rests beside two homes after it was driven inland by flood waters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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This undated image provided by Arcadis shows the Dutch engineering firmÃs proposal to build a barrier in the Verrazano Narrows between New York's Brooklyn borough and Staten Island, shielding the Upper New York Bay. This barrier would be supplemented by two smaller barriers, one between Staten Island and New Jersey and the other on the East River. The vast destruction wreaked by the storm surge in New York could have been prevented with a sea barrier of the type that protects major cities in Europe, scientists and engineers say. The multibillion price tag of such a project has been a hindrance, but may appear more palatable after the damage from Superstorm Sandy has been tallied. (AP Photo/Arcadis)

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Lisa Kravchenko, of Staten Island, stands amongst flood debris in her princess Halloween costume, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A passenger inspects the water level around his vehicle as multiple cars drive through a flooded street, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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Rescue workers check a home for fuel leaks and other types of damage, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A vehicle is submerged after being carried into a swampy depression by floodwaters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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Mike Cappucci, 46, of Staten Island, surveys the damage to his home after boats from a nearby harbor were driven inland by floodwaters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A NYPD police officer performs a search in high grasses that were flooded during a storm surge, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Arrochar neighborhood of the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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Customers form a queue to fill their gasoline canisters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A woman stands in a street flooded by superstorm Sandy, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

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Zofia Noe, a Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist, prepares water samples from a research vessel on the Patuxent River on Thursday. The monthly sampling cruise of the river is providing data on the impact of Hurricane Sandy. (Associated Press)