Project features cross-county sewer link
This is an aerial view plan of the 190-unit condominium project, right, proposed for land near the Oheka Castle, shown at left. The developer is seeking to have sewage from the development sent into the Nassau County Sewer District.
When residents of a planned luxury condominium project in Suffolk County wash dishes, do laundry or take a shower, the dirty water they generate will flow into Nassau County.
A unique arrangement will allow the project to connect to the Nassau County Sewer District rather than rely on a septic system in Suffolk County.
The project is proposed for a 186.6-acre parcel that straddles the border between Oyster Bay Town in Nassau County and Huntington in Suffolk and includes the historic Oheka Castle in Huntington and the Cold Spring Country Club in West Hills.
The Suffolk County Planning Commission voted earlier this month to approve the project with several conditions, including requiring the developer, Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius, to work with the county health department and Nassau County Department of Public Works to connect the project to the Nassau sewer district.
Melius proposed the sewer connection, which will also include the castle and country club's golf facilities.
The project will include two four-story buildings connected with a lobby. It will be constructed in front of the castle.
"Not only does this make more sense than discharging sewage into the ground, but it will generate significant fees for Nassau as the county has the capacity to accept this sewage," Michael Martino, Nassau County Department of Public Works spokesman, wrote in an email.
Because about 7 acres of the property are in Nassau County, the project is entitled to discharge sewage into the system that feeds the Cedar Creek Water Pollution Control Plant in Seaford, Martino said.
Suffolk County Health Department spokeswoman Carol Downing said her agency has not had any formal contact about the project, but would be reviewing the sewage collection system and water supply for the project.
The only other cross-county sewering project on Long Island is for commercial properties, not residential -- two hotels in Huntington that get Suffolk County water but use Nassau County sewers, according to David Calone, chairman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission.
"Hopefully it [the Oheka Castle property proposal] will work out, because the project is thoughtfully done and will ensure that the regionally significant asset of the castle and its grounds will be maintained," Calone said.
A resolution on a zoning change for the property was removed from the Feb. 6 Huntington Town Board meeting agenda. Melius said there were some conditions that had been promised to neighbors of the castle property that needed to be added to the resolution.
Melius called the Suffolk planning commission approval of the sewering proposal "good news" for the project even though he did not expect construction to start for years. "We still have a lot to do," Melius said. "This project is years away."
Martino said there is no time frame for starting the sewer connection project.
"The developer's engineer needs to come up with a plan to regulate . . . the rate of sewage flow from the development," he said.
