Sanitation company sues Fire Island National Seashore over pickups in Saltaire
Village Hall in Saltaire in 2020. There are around 400 houses in the village, most of which are seasonal. Credit: Morgan Campbell
The only waste collection company that serves the Village of Saltaire says in a lawsuit that it has been forced to stop collecting garbage from the municipality after the Fire Island National Seashore failed to renew its permits.
A complaint filed in federal court on Friday alleges that Fire Island National Seashore Superintendent Alexcy Romero unlawfully terminated and refused to renew special-use permits required for the carting business to drive on the barrier island — thus causing “irreparable harm” to the business and residents of Saltaire by creating a “health, safety, and environmental crisis.”
The company, Wetherall Carting, has held permits for decades to “transport and remove debris and waste … from Fire Island to authorized waste management facilities located on the mainland of Long Island,” the suit says.
Jason Waters, the owner of the business, also known as All Weather Industries of NY Inc., filed the suit against the National Park Service, then-secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Deb Haaland and Romero.
Spokespersons for the Department of the Interior and separately, the National Park Service declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. Romero, when reached, said a reporter's questions needed to be approved by NPS before he could answer them and that he couldn't comment further.
There are around 400 houses in the Village of Saltaire, most of which are seasonal, according to the Saltaire Citizens Association. Waters, whose permits expired Friday, is supposed to pick up trash from Saltaire every Monday during the winter season and more frequently during the spring and summer, the suit says.
Village Administrator Mario Posillico said in an email that Saltaire has been advised of the suit and sent a letter to the Fire Island National Seashore regarding its “actions, and is currently reviewing this matter to determine what steps may be taken to protect the interests of the Village and its residents.”
Historically, the National Park Service has heavily restricted vehicle access to Fire Island, which has no paved road down the length of the island. Permits may be granted to year-round residents, people with part-time permits prior to 1978, essential services, and hunters and fishers, according to the complaint.
Waters has owned the business for the past four years, said his attorney David Besso, but the company has operated on Fire Island for about 70 years.
According to the suit, the park service attempted to restrict Wetherall Carting’s renewal permits by indicating that the company would have to transport construction debris via barge rather than truck. That would cost Waters millions because he would need to build the infrastructure for the barge, and it would leave Saltaire with no alternate means to remove the material until construction was completed, the suit alleges.
Waters could not agree to those conditions because it would limit his ability to fulfill his contract with the village to “remove all waste, including bulk items and construction debris,” the complaint says.
Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
