DEC Still Has Not Made Decision On Proposed ‘Sand Land’ Expansion In Noyac

The State Department of Environmental Conservation has yet to make a decision on an application to expand a sand mine in Noyac, for which the department held a public hearing in November.

According to Aphrodite Montalvo, a DEC spokesperson, the department is still reviewing comments on the application from Wainscott Sand & Gravel Inc. to expand its mine on Middle Line Highway by 4.9 acres, as well as to excavate 40 feet deeper than authorized under its existing State Mined Lands Reclamation Act permit, which was issued in 2013 and expires in 2018.

In July, the DEC determined that the expansion of the mine, locally dubbed “Sand Land,” would have no adverse environmental effects, allowing Wainscott Sand & Gravel to bypass an expensive and time-consuming environmental review. Environmentalists, local officials and residents were quick to oppose the decision, though, writing a slew of letters to the department urging it to reconsider, as the mine sits above one of Suffolk County’s deepest aquifers.

Additionally, neighbors of Sand Land—The Bridge golf course being one of them—submitted complaints about noise from the number of trucks that visit the site, as well as smells from the composting and mulching that takes place there.

In response to the local reaction, the DEC held a public hearing on November 19 at the Bridgehampton Community House, led by DEC Administrative Law Judge Molly T. McBride. Opponents stressed that the expansion would compromise the quality of drinking water that comes from the aquifer, which supplies most of the drinking water in eastern Southampton and western East Hampton towns.

Ms. Montalvo said in an email last week that while at this point the department cannot provide an exact date for a decision, “any permits issued by the DEC would include conditions that require the applicants to avoid, minimize and mitigate adverse environmental impacts.”

This week, Wainscott Sand & Gravel President John Tintle said that while he has not heard from the DEC about the status of his application, it is not unusual for the department to take more than four months to make a determination. “This is kind of standard for the DEC to review mining modifications,” he said.

Mr. Tintle added that he does not understand why the community has suddenly become interested in his company’s mining operation, as it has been around for decades. But he assured that with the mine’s proposed expansion, there would still be a 100-foot distance between the new base of the mine and the start of the groundwater table, thus preventing contamination of drinking water with manganese and other heavy metals, as environmentalists have feared.

“The business has been mining there since the late ’50s, early ’60s, yet it’s never been a topic of the local [community],” Mr. Tintle said. “So I think that speaks to how we’ve been a good neighbor.”

But Robert DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End, said his organization has been keeping an eye on activity near the aquifer since the late 1980s, when there were talks of establishing a golf course where The Bridge now stands. He said the controversy surrounding the golf club is what led to the stringent environmental protocols it now has to follow, which includes regularly monitoring groundwater with 16 test wells.

He added that interest in Wainscott Sand & Gravel’s operations has grown because of the expansion application, as it is a chance to encourage the DEC to require more groundwater monitoring at the mine. There are currently two test wells on either side of the mine, one of which runs 150 feet deep from the base of the mine, Mr. Tintle has said.

“We’re just talking about getting a handle on all the environmental protocols. Our concern is that the DEC initially took the position that there’s no adverse environmental effects,” Mr. DeLuca said, noting that a comprehensive study conducted by the DEC in 2013 that examined groundwater monitoring wells at a composting site in Yaphank found them to be contaminated with manganese.

“We think there’s ample evidence,” he said. “If they’re continuing to look at [the comments from the public hearing], that’s fine by me. I would rather they take the time.”