For Water as Well as Land?

East Hampton voters will have an opportunity to weigh in next fall on whether to authorize the use of up to 20 percent of the town’s community preservation fund for projects that would improve water quality.

On Dec. 11, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill authorizing a vote on whether to extend the preservation fund program, now scheduled to expire in 2030, to 2050, and to allow the participating towns to use up to 20 percent of the money in the fund for certain pre-approved water quality improvement projects. 

“When the C.P.F. was initiated, land preservation was the single greatest issue when it came to protecting community character,” State Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. said this week. The assumption, he said, was that by preserving land, groundwater and surface water bodies would be protected as well, but “that hasn’t panned out, unfortunately. We’re still seeing a decline in water quality. Water quality is the most dominant environmental issue that Long Island, in particular the East End, is dealing with right now.”

Should voters in the five East End towns approve, the towns would be able to use a portion of the preservation fund to pay for five categories of water-quality improvement: wastewater treatment, anti-pollution efforts, aquatic habitat restoration, general pollution prevention, and for the operation of the Peconic Bay National Estuary Program.

Mr. Thiele said this week that to narrow the focus of the eligible projects, provide additional oversight, and prevent misuse of the fund, the law has been modified since proposed, and now requires approval of individual projects by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The state agency would determine if the projects are consistent with regional water quality plans such as the South Shore or Peconic Estuary plans, or a new, Long Island-wide nitrogen reduction plan.

The expansion into water quality projects “is consistent with the original legislation” authorizing the community preservation  program, said Mr. Thiele, who co-sponsored the revision with State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle. The C.P.F., which receives the proceeds from a 2-percent real estate transfer tax, was established in the five East End towns in 1999 to pay for the preservation of land, including open space, farmland, and historic sites.

Based on past figures, it is projected that extending the program through 2050 will raise another $2.7 billion overall, with $540 million of it available for water quality projects, should voters approve. Each town would determine its own spending priorities, said Mr. Thiele.