Appeals court agrees to hear Sand Land case over disputed DEC permit
Sand is a necessary construction ingredient, but environmentalists say its extraction could negatively impact groundwater by removing filtering layers of rock and soil. Credit: Chuck Fadely
The state’s highest court will hear arguments in the years-long case involving a controversial Noyac sand mine and the neighbors and environmental groups who have been trying to shut it down.
The Court of Appeals on Feb. 15 granted the Sand Land Corporation leave to appeal a lower-court ruling in favor of Southampton Town and environmental groups that nullified a permit issued by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The court also granted a stay of the previous ruling and allowed the New York Construction Material Association, a trade group, to join as an amicus curiae, meaning it can submit filings in support of Sand Land’s case.
Sand is a necessary construction ingredient, but environmentalists say its extraction could negatively impact groundwater by removing filtering layers of rock and soil.
The DEC has sole authority to issue new mining permits except on Long Island, which draws its drinking water from underground and where new applications cannot be processed in areas where mines are prohibited by local zoning code.
Sand Land’s Wainscott-based attorney, David Eagan, said in a statement that the company is thankful the court will hear its appeal.
"The Court of Appeals grants leave to appeal in less than 3% of such motions and rarely grants stays," Eagan said. "We believe those facts speak to the presumptive merits of Sand Land's appeal. Sand Land looks forward to its opportunity to fully argue its appeal."
Southampton Town and others took the DEC and Sand Land to court in 2019 over the issuance of a permit allowing the mine — which a 2018 Suffolk County report linked to groundwater contamination — to dig 40 feet deeper and operate for another eight years.
A state Supreme Court justice ruled in 2020 that the permit was valid, but the town appealed. A May appellate court ruling found the DEC violated state environmental conservation law by issuing the permit, which was prohibited under Southampton’s zoning laws.
New York Attorney General Letitia James did not seek leave last year from the Court of Appeals by a September deadline, ending the state’s participation in the case. DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said the agency worked with James’ office in the decision not to further pursue the lawsuit.
Southampton Town Attorney James Burke said the Court of Appeals decision to hear the case was surprising after James’ office decided not to pursue it. He noted, however, that a decision could clarify state environmental conservation law.
"I am hopeful that the COA [Court of Appeals] will uphold the decision of the Third Department and even provide further clarification of the important role that local municipalities have with these applications," Burke wrote in an email to Newsday.
Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
