State: Marina, firms had no permit for wetland work

Acting on information from an environmental group, the state has charged a Montauk marina and two other firms with dredging and other work in wetlands without a permit.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation said Wednesday it had issued notices of violation to the owners of Rick's Crabby Cowboy Cafe & Marina on East Lake Drive on Lake Montauk, Keith Grimes Inc. and Sagaponack Sand and Gravel based on information supplied by Group for the East End.

DEC Regional Director Peter Scully said the charges stem from a dredging project at the marina that began in May. He said the environmental group filed a complaint that a road had been constructed at the marina to allow an excavator and oversized dump truck to drive into the regulated tidal wetlands to dredge the marina. The group also provided photographs showing that a lagoon used to drain water out of dredged material had also been constructed with discharge pipes that channeled silt and sediment into Lake Montauk.

The DEC staff determined that in 2004 the agency had issued a permit authorizing the marina owner to do repair work in and around the marina area, including replacement of a bulkhead and maintenance dredging. But the agency said the permit expired last year and the dredging under way was different from what had been originally authorized.

The unapproved work included expansion of a sandbar to create a road on which heavy, non-permitted equipment could conduct dredging; unauthorized use of hydraulic dredging equipment; creation of a diked area for removing water from dredged material and placement of dredge spoil on a sandbar in the tidal wetlands.

DEC said it requested that no further work be conducted apart from the restoration of the sandbar. But the agency said it learned in mid-June that more illegal work was being done after the request including removal of dredged material from the marina site to a mining facility in Bridgehampton. The mining facility's permit does not allow acceptance of solid waste at the site, but the facility is charged with accepting dredge spoil and construction and demolition material.

Marina owner Richard Gibbs and Keith Grimes, owner of the contracting firm Keith Grimes Inc., were each cited for multiple violations.

These include dredging without a permit; constructing a road in a tidal wetland without a permit; discharge of dredge waters to surface waters without a permit; dredging after the end of the permit period that closed June 1, 2009; removing dredge spoil site in violations of a DEC permit; placement of fill in navigable waters without a permit; creation of a solid waste management facility without a permit; illegal disposal of solid waste; failure to obtain a permit for construction activities; and failure to obtain a permit for discharge of the dredge spoil.

"I thought I had a permit in place and verbal approval from DEC to do the dredging I had not completed the year before," Gibbs said. Susan Grimes, owner of Sagaponack Sand and Gravel in Bridgehampton, was issued violations.

They include storing construction and demolition debris in violation of a DEC mining permit; and operating a solid waste management facility without DEC authorization permit.

Susan and Keith Grimes had no comment. They may be able to resolve the violations at a compliance conference, Scully said, or the case will go to a DEC administrative law judge. "The protection of tidal wetlands is an important priority for DEC, and violations like those that have been documented at this site require a forceful enforcement response," Scully said. "DEC staff and law enforcement officers work tirelessly to promote and protect Long Island's environment, but with almost 1,200 square miles and more than 1,180 miles of shoreline to cover, they cannot be everywhere. As this case clearly demonstrates, interested citizens can play an important role in helping to ensure the enforcement of environmental laws."

Individuals spotting illegal environmental activities are encouraged to call DEC's Environmental Conservation Officers at (631) 444-0250 on weekdays during business hours, and 1-800-TIPP-DEC (1-877-457-5680) at all other times to report such suspected activities.