Thiele Steps Up Criticism of DEC Over Sand Land Enforcement

State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. this week stepped up his criticism of the State Department of Environmental Conservation over its failure to shut down the Sand Land mine in Noyac.

In February, the state’s highest court annulled two mining permits the DEC had granted the operation and ordered the DEC to check with Southampton Town to determine whether the Wainscott Sand and Gravel Corporation, which owns the property, continues to hold any rights to mine sand from the 50-acre site off Millstone Road.

Although the DEC typically oversees mining operations in the state, on Long Island, the towns have the authority to regulate mines through their zoning codes, and the Southampton has taken the position for years that Sand Land had exhausted its mining rights.

“In a nutshell, here is this case: The DEC conspired with the applicant in a backroom deal to grant them a permit for expansion by excluding the town,” Thiele said on Friday, April 21. He added that when the Court of Appeals issued its ruling in February, “it took the DEC two months just to write a ticket, and that’s been it.”

Although Thiele said the ball was in the DEC’s court, he said the town also needed to be more aggressive.

“They don’t have a valid permit at the moment,” he said. “And they have also violated the zoning code by expanding beyond their preexisting, nonconforming use by the town’s own position.”

Town Attorney James Burke said the town was happy to see the DEC issue tickets at the site, which it did earlier this month, but, in a series of text messages this week, he said the town was losing patience.

“If the DEC is not going to utilize their enforcement powers here, the town will consider all our options to bring an enforcement action beyond what we already have done, including seeking a mandamus and or an injunction action in [State] Supreme Court,” he said on Friday. A mandamus is a court order directing a governmental agency to do its statutory duty.

On Monday, Burke said he had spoken with the DEC’s regional counsel and there was agreement that even if the 2013 permit the DEC has been relying on remains valid, “they cannot mine below 160 feet above sea level, and they are below that at this time, so sand mining should not be occurring at the site.”

He said Sand Land did have the right to reclaim the site, which is one of the conditions of its mining permit. He said the town would send code enforcement officers to the site this week to inspect it.

Sand Land’s attorney did not reply to a request for comment.