In the best-case scenario, it will take many years, but the East Hampton Village Board pressed ahead last week with plans to build a sewage treatment plant outside village limits on Accabonac Road to serve the village business district.
The proposed plant would treat 75,000 gallons of wastewater per day, allow for business expansion in the village, and potentially improve the water quality of Hook Ponds, since the village sits squarely in its watershed. It would be built at 172 Accabonac Road, a 12.5-acre site that is also the location of the village’s Department of Public Works.
Nicholas Bono, an engineer with H2M Architects + Engineers, cited work by Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, who concluded in a 2016 water quality study that 50 percent of the algal loading could be removed from the pond with a wastewater treatment system in the village.
While there could be advantages for the ponds, the treatment plant might also allow for more development in the village. “It’s something that needs to be discussed,” said Mr. Bono. “We’re going to put this infrastructure in, what does that do to the community? It’s something you need to address. I’m not going to say sewering is the only answer.”
In2019,thevillageadoptedlegislation that made low-nitrogen septic systems mandatory for all new residential construction. Later, it amended it so that such systems were required if the gross floor area of a house increased by 25 percent or more during renovation, or if the number of bedrooms was increased. “I believe that’s a necessary component, but it’s a slow-go,” he said. (A proposition on the ballot in Suffolk County this year, Proposition 2, would allow for an eighth of a penny increase to the county sales tax, which would go to a dedicated fund that could be tapped to expand sewers and provide tax-free grants to homeowners who upgrade their septic systems.)
An early plan by the village to bury the plant under the long-term parking lot off Lumber Lane, thus avoiding town review, was nixed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Mr. Bono cited coordination with the town and receiving town approval as “critical issue number one that needs to be hashed out with the Planning Department” and said a “conversation with the town supervisor is the best place to start.”
“Currently, we are not in a position to comment,” Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said in an email. “The town has yet to be contacted by the village regarding the presentation made by their engineer. We look forward to learning more about their proposal.” Indeed, Jodi Walker, the secretary for the planning board, confirmed that the village had yet to submit an application.
The $119,000 the village board agreed to pay H2M will cover three aspects of the early stages of the project: preliminary design and cost analysis, mapping and planning the service area, and working through the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. In a written proposal to the village
board, Mr. Bono indicated that the village board would make determinations per SEQRA. However, since the plant would be in the town’s jurisdiction and in a residential zone, the town’s planning board might consider it under its purview. Any dispute would need to be resolved by the D.E.C.
Once a plan is devised and the cost determined (in 2022 Mr. Bono said construction alone would upwards of $20 million, but that did not include many “soft costs”), a public hearing will be held.
The key elements for success, Mr. Bono said, are gaining town support, regulatory acceptance from the D.E.C., and receiving grant money to make it financially feasible.
“What is the time frame on something like this?” asked Sarah Amaden, a board member.
Mr. Bono said that in Westhampton, his firm started similar work in 2016 to map and develop a wastewater system. “There was a lot of motivation in the village. The board and the mayor had momentum and direct engagement. It went on the faster side,” he said. Construction recently finished even though Westhampton was only connecting to an existing plant. The sewers have been in operation since 2022.
“I think we should move forward if everybody agrees,” said Mayor Jerry Larsen. “The longer we wait . . . “
In a text, he confirmed that a resolution to approve payment to H2M for the work would be on next month’s agenda.
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Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the project had the potential to positively impact both Hook and Georgica Ponds. The improvements would seen only at Hook Pond, according to H2M Architects + Engineers, the consultants working with the village. In addition, the firm said, the construction alone will cost upwards of $20 million, not the $12 million stated in the original article.
