Brookhaven Town to meet on Forge River Plan

Brookhaven Town will host a public meeting Thursday to provide an update about the Forge River Watershed Management Plan.

A consulting firm, Cameron Engineering & Associates of Woodbury, will provide details on the management plan and answer questions, town officials said.

"The community has waited a long time for this lengthy process to unfold," councilman Dan Panico, who represents the area, said in a statement. "I eagerly await the release of this plan and then discussing matters of implementation."

The 3.5-mile Forge River feeds into Moriches Bay and serves as a border between the hamlets of Mastic and Moriches. The river has been subject to heavy pollution from runoff, cesspools and duck farming operations, environmentalists and regulatory agencies have said.

Brookhaven officials said they expect a draft management plan by late November. The management plan is funded in part with a state Environmental Protection Fund grant, officials said.

The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the Mastic fire house at 1080 Mastic Rd.