Shelter Island's town board agrees to join environmental effort

Shelter Island’s town board has agreed to join several other East End towns in coming up with an action plan to deal with pollution in the Peconic Estuary system, where runoff from roads, fields and other sources contributes to environmental problems.

Like East Hampton Town did earlier this month, Shelter Island’s board put restrictions on the intermunicipal agreement it approved unanimously on Friday, saying that the town would not pay more than 10 percent of any estuary research and any work required to improve the ecology of the water system, and that any future spending would be subject to approval by the town board.

Brookhaven and Southold also have passed resolutions to enter into an intermunicipal agreement that calls for evaluating the pollution problem and coming up with ways to deal with it. Riverhead and Southampton towns also are being asked to enter into the agreement, along with several villages on the banks of the Peconic Estuary.

Until the research is done and treatment plans are developed, the cost of any future project such as restoring wetlands cannot be estimated.