View Montauk plant environmentally
Ricard Whalen and Tom Ruhle at a site where East Hampton officials have proposed a wastewater treatment facility. Credit: John Roca
View Montauk plant environmentally
Concerned Citizens of Montauk (CCOM) has been a tireless advocate for the preservation of Montauk’s environment, water quality and open space since 1970.
It is critical the wastewater crisis in Montauk be addressed [“Treatment plant faces dissent,” Our Towns, Jan. 13]. Nutrient-rich wastewater can exacerbate harmful algal blooms, pollute drinking water, and negatively impact shellfish, fish and wildlife.
The recent Montauk Community Wastewater Proposal as presented by East Hampton Town is lacking. The town should:
- Rationalize the size of the centralized proposal and alternate options, including decentralized and cluster systems.
- Assess the short and long-term financial impacts.
- Explain the potential impact on growth, development and redevelopment.
- Implement a State Environmental Quality Review Act review of the proposal.
The proposal identifies Suffolk County parkland as a potential treatment site. CCOM opposes the alienation of parkland. The bar is high for CCOM to consider alienation to ever be appropriate — it needs to result in a demonstrable and viable benefit, an environmental harm that cannot be mediated in any other way, a standard that’s not yet met. The community should have opportunities to provide direction and feedback.
— Laura Tooman, Montauk
The writer is president of CCOM.
Parks are preserved because they are places for us to enjoy nature and get away from it all. The nature trails in Hither Woods are a place to re-create ourselves while we hike, bike or run in the forest.
This poorly thought-out plan to bulldoze the beautiful canyon section of Hither Woods may not physically affect trails, but consider the mental health aspect of losing a bucolic view. We could still use the trails, but if our view is of fencing and industry, it would only increase stress. Clean water is important, but taking parkland should not be the first option.
— Michael Vitti, Glen Head
The writer is president of Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists (CLIMB).
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