Town Board Votes to Close Scavenger Waste Plant

East Hampton Town’s scavenger waste treatment plant, which has been operating since 2012 solely as a transfer station for waste trucked elsewhere to be treated, will be decommissioned and closed for good by the end of November, according to a resolution passed by the town board last Thursday.

The board acted following a February report from Lombardo Associates, a consultant, which said the plant has been operating at a financial loss and that significant improvements would be needed to restore it to full function. Lombardo was hired to review the plant’s status and operations as well as to develop an overall town wastewater management plan.

Discontinuing operation of the transfer station, which is used by only a few of the town’s septic waste carters, will save approximately $50,000 a month, according to the resolution. After absorbing the cost of decommissioning the site and paying off related debt, the town will save more than $800,000 a year, said Supervisor Larry Cantwell. Costs will be reduced by half in the first year, he said, predicting that “this will have a material impact on the town’s finances and budget.”

The supervisor said he had received inquires from several septic companies about taking over the site and operating the transfer station privately. A proposal would be considered, Mr. Cantwell said, as long as the town could still achieve the savings.