Get Out of the Hole

There is vigorously fighting government regulation and oversight and then there is complete lawlessness.

Sand Land Corporation’s behavior tipped the scales toward lawlessness some time ago, and the mine operator’s continued refusal to comply with court orders should alarm everyone on the South Fork. It’s not just an issue of a mine ignoring the rules, but a threat to the sole-source aquifer that we all rely on for drinking water.

Sand Land is still digging away at its 34.5-acre sand mine off Millstone Road in Noyac, despite years of litigation that culminated in February with the state’s highest court annulling all of its permits for mine expansion. Just last month, a State Supreme Court justice refused Sand Land’s request for an injunction that would have stopped the State Department of Environmental Conservation from enforcing the February high court ruling.

But it has never mattered to Sand Land what the courts have had to say or what Southampton Town, which has the authority to regulate mining within the town, has to say. The company just keeps digging itself into a hole, both literally and metaphorically.

Sand Land’s last valid permit was issued in 2013, but the mine has removed more than 400,000 cubic yards of sand beyond what was permitted then and the mine is 40 feet deeper than permitted. Every day that more sand is removed the aquifer becomes that much more vulnerable.

The DEC’s failure to enforce the court’s ruling makes the department look feckless, which can only encourage other mines to exceed their permits — because why not, when there are no consequences?

The DEC says it has issued Sand Land notices of violation. The DEC is also on notice: Sand Land doesn’t take you seriously. And unless the DEC steps up, no one will.