An experimental wetland treatment system for the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church property was not approved on April 9 at an East Hampton Town Board work session, despite its location in the village’s Hook Pond area, a priority for groundwater quality. It takes approximately 10 years for impacted groundwater to move from the church into the pond, it was said.
The grant proposal was one of five recommended by the water quality technical advisory committee for funding this year, but it was deemed too risky. The $545,000 grant request was also the largest. While committee members explained that they had recommended it partly because of the potential for the technology, the board didn’t want to commit taxpayer money to a pilot program.
“I would like to see how the other experimental project worked,” Councilwoman Cate Rogers said, referring to the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, which had received approval for a similar system. Its installation had been delayed until this spring, and the board wants to see data on its efficacy.
The board was supportive, however, of sending $100,500 to Rowdy Hall, shy of the $140,625 request. The Amagansett restaurant also saw approval for an easement to put parts of its septic system under the municipal parking lot at the rear of the building.
“This is a large-scale upgrade of a failing commercial sanitary system with benefits to groundwater quality and protection of public health; in good standing with the Town of East Hampton following agreement with [the architectural review board],” read a slide presented to the board by Billy Hajek, chairman of the water quality committee, and Mellissa Winslow, a senior environmental analyst with the town.
The slide also highlighted that the site is “located outside of priority areas” and that it takes 10 to 25 years for wastewater to reach the Atlantic Ocean.
Two locations in Montauk that have much quicker travel times had proposals approved, one for $200,000 for Hero Beach Club to upgrade its septic system. The water quality committee estimated that wastewater makes it from the hotel to the ocean in less than two years. An innovative-alternative system was expected to remove 275 pounds of nitrogen contamination per year.
Similarly, a Harvest restaurant grant for $87,100 was greenlighted to upgrade its septic system, which was expected to remove 376 pounds of nitrogen annually.
“This one is a no-brainer,” Councilman David Lys said. “I don’t even think there’s a 30-day travel time to Fort Pond.”
A fourth approved request, $38,060 for eelgrass restoration in Napeague Harbor, was the only one unrelated to the slow seepage of septic systems, and a welcome shift.
“It should be interesting and fun,” Mr. Hajek said, adding that there would be educational benefits and that local schools could get involved. “We’re going to be attaching eelgrass seeds to juvenile clams, which are then dispersed. The clams bury in the substrate and hopefully that results in eelgrass.”
“I’m happy to see this project on the list today,” Ms. Rogers said. “It is the bookend to upgrading septic systems. It’s taking care of what’s already happened to the waters.”
The approved proposals move next to public hearings.
