Septic System Puzzles Board

Sometimes what is below the ground can loom larger than what is above it. This may be the case with a site plan being considered by the East Hampton Town Planning Board for Arbor, a  Montauk restaurant.

Arbor, at 240 Fort Pond Road opposite the train station, was opened by Marc Rowan, an equities investor, who recently also acquired Duryea’s Lobster Deck, the Neptune Motel, and property on Fort Pond Bay where he plans to build several cottages.

The Arbor site plan, which calls for adding two outdoor patios to the grounds, received support from neighbors, but two speakers spoke against it, concerned about the sanitary system’s effect on groundwater.

  Kevin McAllister, the head of Defend H2O, warned that the septic system may predate 1973 and said it consisted of inadequate cesspools. He also said the system was too close to groundwater and that a letter from Norsic Sanitation stated that the large capacity cesspools at the site are of the type banned by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Mr. Rowan was represented at the hearing by Tina Piette, who countered that she had received a letter from another firm, Hampton Septic Services, which apparently indicated the system was adequate. The letter read: “The south side tank is precast with a 2,000-gallon capacity. The system by the east side of the building is also precast and approximately 8,000 gallons in total capacity.”

In a memo to the board, JoAnne Pahwul, the assistant director of the East Hampton Town Planning Department, suggested the board consider reconciling the differing accounts, while Ms. Piette told the board that Mr. Rowan was eager to pursue a new sewage treatment system, if possible, in conjunction with neighboring property owners.

  Louis Cortese, representing the Ditch Plains Association, also spoke against the plan and suggested the board seek review by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

The planning board was expected to continue the discussion at its meeting last night.