The Hampton Bays Citizens Advisory Committee is very concerned with the extensive composting operation located at the Hampton Bays transfer site. Our Hampton Bays Water District has a problem with ion and manganese infiltration into our groundwater supply, requiring filtration treatment. Many residents of the Hampton Bays Water District still have discolored water coming out of their taps. This water is not fit to drink or bathe in.
The composting operation may be contributing to this problem, and we still have no public release of test well data. The United Nations has stated that access to potable water is a human right!
Alex Gregor, Southampton Town’s superintendent of highways, has said the operation violates its permitted capacity, and that the State Department of Environmental Conservation would issue a summons to the property owner if it was not being operated by the town. Mr. Gregor, who is a town official, made the assertion during a recent candidates debate in Hampton Bays.
The situation is perplexing, because Southampton Town government is in court trying to shut down a similar privately run composting operation in the North Sea area. Southampton Town is currently petitioning the State DEC to increase the permitted capacity of the operation in Hampton Bays.
The town’s dichotomy of actions concerning these two operations is very troubling to the Hampton Bays CAC. We need transparency, not stonewalling by the town’s bureaucracy on this critical clean water issue.
Ray D’AngeloChair
Hampton Bays Citizens Advisory Committee
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