Inspectors with the State Department of Environmental Conservation have visited the Sand Land mine in Noyac three times within the past three weeks, writing up the mine for at least one permit violation on April 10 and another on April 18 before visiting again three days later, on Friday.
The mine has been an ongoing source of conflict between its owner, John Tintle of Wainscott Sand and Gravel, and the community, including Southampton Town, State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., and multiple citizens and advocacy groups. The controversy dates back several years, with litigation culminating in a February decision by the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, which struck down Sand Land’s 2019 D.E.C. permit, its most recent.
Opponents of the mine allege that new activity there is being done illegally in light of the Feb. 9 decision. The D.E.C., however, told The Star this week that it had “reviewed the court decisions . . . and determined that the permit issued to Sand Land in 2013 is in effect.”
Gregory Brown, an attorney with Fogel and Brown P.C. in Syracuse, who represents Sand Land, contends that the mine has the right to operate provisionally under the State Administrative Procedures Act while it applies for a renewal of the 2013 permit.
“If you have a permit for an ongoing type of operation, and you apply to renew it, and it’s timely and the D.E.C. accepts it, the [administrative act] automatically extends it while your subsequent application is being reviewed,” Mr. Brown said yesterday.
Mr. Thiele asserted this week that the continued activity at Sand Land is not allowed, and that the D.E.C. has “written them a ticket, that’s all.”
The D.E.C. said yesterday that it “continues to be responsive to concerns raised by the community,” noting that each violation carries a fine of up to $8,000, plus up to $2,000 for each day an illicit activity continues, “with specific amounts and corrective actions, as needed, being subject to the ongoing enforcement investigation.”
Mr. Thiele and other Sand Land opponents maintain that groundwater contamination is occurring at the mine and is likely leaching toward the aquifer below, the sole source of drinking water for Long Islanders. Evidence of pollutants including iron, manganese, ammonia, and gross alpha (radioactivity) was detailed in a July 2018 report by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, but Sand Land has since disputed those test results and said that more recent sampling came back within normal groundwater parameters.
“The D.E.C. is supposed to protect the environment, but they’ve done nothing,” Mr. Thiele said on Tuesday.
He and State Senator Anthony Palumbo are now drafting a letter to State Attorney General Letitia James. “This may be something where the A.G. needs to intervene and enforce the rule of law,” said Mr. Thiele.
Enforcement “is always a consideration,” said Mr. Brown. “Obviously, we’re looking to resolve things and make sure we’re not in violation.”
“There’s been some real confusion here,” he said. “The D.E.C. is telling us right now that the 2013 permit applies.”
