Letter: Focus on Carmans River water quality
Swans at the Carmans River in South Haven County Park in Brookhaven. (March 29, 2012) Credit: Daniel Brennan
Regarding your editorial "They could have saved the Carmans" , as environmentalists who have worked on Carmans River issues for some time and who were involved in the planning process, we applaud the courageous stance of Brookhaven Town Board members Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld, Connie Kepert and Daniel Panico for saying no to a proposed preservation plan.
While the proposal would have preserved some valuable open space in the Carmans River watershed, it did not address the more critical issue of water quality. In fact, the final draft removed the only element that directly protected the river, a critical water-quality standard, and replaced it with a standard which would allow further degradation of the Carmans.
Fiore-Rosenfeld has proposed a planning process that would separately address each of the components of the original plan: protection of the Carmans River, support of the pine barrens transfer of development rights program, and development of multifamily housing.
Each of the planning processes would allow public input in a manner more accessible to the public. The science that went into developing the original plan could be included the new plan.
It is time to move forward. We will work with the planners and invite others to join us to craft a new protection plan that can truly help to preserve the Carmans River.
Kevin McAllister, Doug Swesty
Editor's note: McAllister is president of the Peconic Baykeeper organization. Swesty is Long Island watershed director of the Sea-Run Brook Trout Coalition.
