Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (Unaffiliated, D – Sag Harbor) today announced he has introduced legislation to protect drinking water and groundwater from sources of contamination. This new legislation would implement a moratorium on mining within certain special groundwater protection areas, where either the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) or a county health department has determined that operation of the mine has caused, or is contributing to, contamination of drinking water or groundwater resources.

In July 2020, the State Legislature overwhelmingly passed sensible legislation that would have implemented the Grand Jury’s recommendations on sand mining and illegal dumping issued in 2019, and given local governments on Long Island concurrent jurisdiction with the State over sand mining on Long Island. This was identical to the regulatory framework of concurrent jurisdiction that the DEC shares with local governments over wetlands protection. The Governor ultimately vetoed the legislation (Veto #73 of 2020) and instead directed the DEC, in consultation with the Department of Health, to conduct a study on the impacts to groundwater quality resulting from sand mining on Long Island and issue its findings to the public after three years.

Unfortunately, this approach does nothing to address the immediate concerns of the towns located on Long Island’s East End that continue to challenge state mining approvals issued by the DEC for failing to consider local laws and regulations that protect our environment.

Thiele’s new legislation would place a moratorium on mining at sites where the DEC or a local health department had documented contamination that exceeded state or federal drinking water or groundwater standards. It would be deemed repealed three years after taking effect to coincide with the findings of the State’s study.

“The hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to reverse the trend of declining water quality are a wasted investment if, at the same time, polluters are permitted to conduct business as usual,” Assemblyman Thiele stated, “Enactment of this legislation would not pose any threat to the operation of responsible sand mines that are critical to Long Island’s economy. The only negative impact would be borne by polluters that compromise our most precious natural resource and our public health. I look forward to working towards the passage of this legislation and, once again, fighting on behalf of all Long Islanders to ensure access to safe drinking water.”