A Big Investment

Money won’t fix everything. But when you’re looking at a multigenerational problem — decades of leaky septic systems and other polluting sources flooding our groundwater and threatening our drinking water supply — the more money put to the task, the more effective the solutions.

So the Suffolk County Legislature shouldn’t hesitate to add one-eighth of a cent to the county’s sales tax, with all of the proceeds earmarked for clean water projects. The legislature has to act first, and then it’s up to the county’s voters to endorse the idea in November.

And both should act with haste. As noted at a summit held in Southampton earlier this month, focusing on the proposal, there was unanimity that the tiny hike in sales tax can reap enormous returns with only a small impact on most people’s pocketbooks.

As Montauk, East Hampton and Southampton all struggle to find a location for a sewage treatment plant that would allow sewers to be installed, money also remains a stumbling block for each project. Lining up for state grants is one way to get it done — but if Suffolk County had its own piggy bank to break open, it would remove a major obstacle in each case.

Meanwhile, the scores of private homes and businesses that are in parts of the South Fork that are not likely to get sewers face an even tougher choice: continue to pollute with low-tech, leaky septic tanks and cesspools, or spend five figures to upgrade to newer systems that reduce the flow of pollution. Take away the cost with grants, and suddenly it’s not such a difficult choice after all — and more homeowners and businesses can be expected to get on board and make the switch.

It will be essential to make sure Suffolk County, which has a checkered history of keeping its hands out of the “lock box” fund cookie jar when facing tough budget choices, truly cannot raid this fund once it is created. But the county funds can then be used to match state and federal grants — which will free the backlog and start money flowing in earnest to address the issue.

Peter Scully, the deputy county executive and its “water czar,” noted that there are more than 380,000 cesspool septic systems in the county — and more than half of them, including so many on the South Fork, are in estuaries, near waterbodies or along the coastline. The vast majority of the nitrogen causing damage to our waterbodies comes from these dated systems for removing waste from homes by merely dumping it into the ground.

Those who cringe at the fiscal impact might remember that this is not just an environmental matter: Our poisoned bays are actively damaging the economy in many ways. And a sales tax spreads the impact around, instead of only expecting property owners to pay for the cleanup through traditional property taxes. This way, everyone who lives in or visits Suffolk County shares the load.

A tax that comes out to 12 cents for every $100 spent would generate something like $58 million in just its first year — which alone would be enough to start to make a dent in major projects to address our wastewater mess. And Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. noted that the program would be “needs based,” so coastline communities would be the priority.

An eighth of a penny at a time, this proposal can pay off enormously for Suffolk County. Let’s get it done.