Calverton tree farm must remove compost by Sept. 29, Riverhead Town says

The owner of a 45-acre tree farm in Calverton has until the end of the month to remove piles of compost from the site after community complaints prompted nearly a dozen town violations, according to the Riverhead Town Attorney’s Office.

Residents surrounding the Youngs Avenue farm raised concerns about foul odors, increased pests and the volume of trucking at the site, a former tree nursery purchased last year by Joseph DeFigueroa, who owns Patriot Recycling in Oceanside.

Representatives for the business failed to appear in Riverhead Justice Court Tuesday for an arraignment on 11 town code violations that include litter and disobeying a stop work order, according to Town Attorney Erik Howard.

Under Riverhead Town Code, farms are allowed to import up to 3,000 cubic yards of organic material annually to support agricultural practices at their sites. But town officials say the dumping and stockpiling of compost at the Youngs Avenue site is not permitted because no active farming is taking place.

Deputy Town Attorney Victoria Pilo sent a letter to DeFigueroa on Aug. 29, which Newsday obtained, ordering him to "immediately commence removal of all mulch, wood debris and any related stockpiled material” from the property no later than Sept. 29.

The town issued the tickets in late July following a site inspection with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

State DEC officials measured the length, width and height of the piles of yard trimmings and observed “strong on-site odors confined to the composting areas and stockpiles,” according to an inspection report obtained by Newsday.

No further action is planned by the DEC, a spokesperson said, because the total volume of yard trimmings was estimated at 3,000 cubic yards, allowed under state regulations for “exempt compost facilities.” Importing additional material would require a DEC registration or permit.

County health officials ruled no further sampling of the piles was needed after a site inspection, according to health department spokeswoman Grace Kelly-McGovern. 

“At this point, I just kind of wanted to see if [the DEC] were going to take the lead on directing him to remove the piles, but since it doesn’t seem like it’s going that way, we’re just going to do it,” Howard said in an interview last week.

DeFigueroa’s attorney, Steven Losquadro, previously told Newsday a tree farmer has been hired to restart the farm and new plantings were planned this fall. He did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Howard said the court date was adjourned until Oct. 7 and the town’s next steps depend on whether the compost is removed.

“Usually with compliance, we would negotiate some sort of plea,” Howard said. “If there’s not going to be any kind of compliance, our offer would be an ‘as-charged,’ which is: plead guilty to everything and pay the max fine.”

Failure to comply with the town’s directive to remove the material could lead to additional violations, according to Pilo’s letter. DeFigueroa could be fined $2,000 per day for continued violations after Sept. 29.

While some neighbors and civic leaders said they are encouraged by the town's order, there are lingering concerns.

"Anything can be in those piles," Toqui Terchun, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, said in an interview.

Terchun said the community is upset that there are no plans to test the material.

“To say that visually, everything looks like it's not necessary to have it tested … It seems incomplete and nonscientific,” she said.