Sand Land To Begin Accepting Waste Again, Raising Questions About Prohibited Mulching Operation

According to a new flier circulated by Wainscott Sand and Gravel in the past week, the mine known as Sand Land in Noyac will start accepting materials such as leaves, brush, grass and wood chips on October 1—suggesting to some that the facility will resume operations recently prohibited by a court decision.

In June, the State Supreme Court Appellate Division denied an appeal to re-argue an earlier ruling, which said that the facility does not have the right to continue to operate a mulching facility, including storing, processing and selling vegetative waste. That decision upheld a 2012 ruling by the Southampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals.

Sand Land was given time to continue to process materials already on the site, but this week Southampton Town Attorney James Burke said that if additional materials are being accepted, that suggests that mulching operations will continue.

Mr. Burke said he saw the flier and plans to set up a court conference this week to see what the town’s options are, as it still has a pending request for a long-term injunction. The town had been denied a temporary restraining order against the facility in May.

“They had piles of material there, and they needed more time to wind up that part of their operations, and the flier certainly indicates something else,” Mr. Burke said. “It’s just more evidence on our end if they’re continuing the operations in contradiction to the court decisions.”

Robert DeLuca, president of Group for the East End, sent a letter to town officials to alert them to the flier and suggested that the town adopt a local law that would give the town the authority to force compliance. He said the handbill makes it appear that Sand Land is open for business as usual this fall season.

“I’d like the town to take the affirmative position through working through its law,” he said Monday.

Through a receptionist, Sand Land’s owner, John Tintle, declined to comment. Brian Matthews of the East Hampton-based law firm Matthews, Kirst & Cooley, PLLC, who now represents Wainscott Sand and Gravel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.