Section 23-2703 of the State Environmental Conservation Law provides that on Long Island, sand mine applications must be referred by the State DEC to the local government to determine whether or not mining is permitted at the location under the local zoning code. If mining is prohibited, the State DEC shall not process the application. This provision applies on Long Island to protect drinking water, which comes from underground aquifers.

In processing the Sand Land application, the State DEC ignored the fact that mining was prohibited by the Town of Southampton Zoning Code and approved the massive expansion of the mine. They also ignored the fact that the Suffolk County Department of Health Services had found that the water at Sand Land mine was polluted and exceeded state and federal drinking water standards. The Sand Land mining operation is located within a residential area and within a Special Groundwater Protection Area designated by the State of New York. In essence, the DEC broke the law and put the interests of the polluter ahead of the environment and the public. Today, the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court righted the wrong committed by the State DEC, by annulling the expansion permit granted by the DEC.

The people of the East End of Long Island have won a major victory. The Court found that, “Here, where it is unchallenged that the Town’s laws prohibit zoning, DEC cannot process the application, let alone issue the permit… Therefore, the act of issuing the permits here … was arbitrary and capricious.”

The DEC has failed miserably to protect our groundwater. I am grateful that the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court recognized both the intent of the Legislature to preserve Long Island’s valuable groundwater resources and the home rule authority of local government.