Pact reached on Yaphank rail terminal

A lengthy negotiating session led by a federal judge Friday resulted in a tentative agreement to allow the expansion of the Brookhaven Rail Terminal in Yaphank.

If the Brookhaven Town Board approves the pact this week, it would settle a federal lawsuit brought by the town and end several years of wrangling before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board over whether the rail terminal is subject to local environmental rules.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Brown brokered the negotiations, which began about 2 p.m. Friday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip and ended with the tentative deal about 7:30 p.m.

Details of the settlement were not made public, so it was not known whether some of the rail terminal's operations will be subject to local regulations or whether the town will receive monetary damages for illegal sand mining done on the site. The town has sought $15 million in damages, and last year Brown issued an injunction barring any further mining.

Terminal officials agreed in July to pay up to $500,000 in fines for illegal dumping on the site, but the state Department of Environmental Conservation said in imposing the fine that it would be lowered to $150,000 if the debris was properly removed.

Town officials argued that the debris was piled next to craters formed when sand was excavated, and that rainwater washed contaminants into the holes just above the aquifer that holds most of Long Island's drinking water.

Brown told lawyers for the town and for terminal that he would oversee their settlement negotiations, to avoid "a long, difficult and expensive" court battle.

He said the talks would be off the record and that neither side could use the information later to attack their adversaries.

He also made clear he would not rule on the case, and any settlement would have to be by mutual agreement between the town and the terminal.

After a lawyer for the rail terminal noted that "a member of the media" was in the courtroom, negotiations were moved to backrooms, and lawyers and town and terminal officials took turns coming out to the courtroom and going back in for the next five hours.

At the conclusion, Brown issued a brief order directing the town to report to him by Nov. 20, after the town board had acted. The judge did not go into specifics, but said the settlement would allow "pursuit of development while making provision for appropriate environmental protections."

Terminal officials declined to comment after the court session.

The lawyer hired by Brookhaven, Robert Calica of Garden City, said the town looked forward to having the rail terminal continue its business.

The 28-acre rail depot, off Exit 66 of the Long Island Expressway, opened in 2011 and was expected to ship and receive hundreds of thousands of tons of construction material and commodities annually -- and to help keep more trucks off roads. Elected and terminal officials have anticipated its expansion as more businesses open in the area.