In the ongoing fight between Sand Land and its opponents over operations at the Noyac mine, a new court decision announced on Monday upholds a previous ruling that voided a permit awarded by the State Department of Environmental Conservation.
In a 3-to-2 decision, the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court denied the D.E.C.'s appeal of its May 27 ruling. The D.E.C.'s request to stay the decision, which would have limited operations at the mine while an appeal could be heard before the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, was also rejected.
The latest round of litigation began in early 2019, when the D.E.C. granted a new sand mining permit to replace one that had expired the year before. The State Supreme Court upheld that permit, but the mine's opponents, including Southampton Town, the Noyac Civic Council, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and others, continued to fight it on several grounds, charging among them that mining is illegal in that part of Southampton Town, and that the D.E.C. had no authority to award a new permit to Sand Land, a pre-existing, nonconforming business.
The appellate division's May 27 ruling said that the D.E.C. had overstepped its bounds.
"It is now time for the state D.E.C. to respect the rule of law," Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. said in a statement this week. "Instead of wasting time and money on continued litigation, the more prudent course of action would be to enforce the law, protect water quality and the environment, and close the mine." The D.E.C. said it was reviewing the latest court decision.
Brian Matthews, the attorney who represents Sand Land, could not be reached for comment this week.
