C.P.F.: For Water, Too?

Town officials are preparing for a vote in the fall on whether to let a portion of the community preservation fund, now earmarked for land purchases only, be used for water quality improvement projects.

Referendums will be on the November ballot in all five East End towns to extend the life of the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund through 2050, continuing the 2-percent real estate transfer tax that provides money for the fund, and to allow up to 20 percent of the C.P.F. to be used to combat the increasing pollution, by septic waste and runoff, of ground, drinking, and surface waters.

The local law, mirroring state legislation, would define the types of water quality improvement projects that could be funded, including wastewater treatment systems, pollution prevention, and aquatic habitat protection and restoration. Some of the money earmarked for water quality could be pooled with money from other East End towns for regional projects that fall within the guidelines.

Money could not be used for “projects that accommodate new growth,” said Nancylynn Thiele, a town attorney who presented a draft law to the town board at a meeting on Tuesday. Projects would have to be consistent with adopted water quality plans, including one that is being drafted by town staffers, and individually authorized by the town board after public hearings.