GROUNDWATER PROTECTION IN EAST HAMPTON

THE SEVENTEEN BROKEN PROMISES
  1. Though promised in the creating Resolution, the Groundwater component of the Comprehensive Plan was not finished by April 1, 2001.
  2. In the Koppelman draft plan, no attempt has been made to compare different ultimate build-out densities for the Town in their impact on existing water supplies.
  3. In it, there is no comparison of infrastructure costs & tradeoffs, e.g., public water supply vs. density reduction to kept private wells.
  4. In it, no "innovative measures" to improve groundwater, surface water, and forest habitat conservation are described.
  5. In it, there are no specific recommendations for zoning, financing, taxation credits, or regulatory programs, as, for golf courses.
  6. No actions are identified as necessary to enhance contiguous forest habitats, open space conservation or recreational opportunities in the watershed zone.
  7. No recommendations have been made to ensure coordination of actions by the Town, County and State in furtherance of the plan.
  8. (Supposedly after acceptance of the Plan), the Town has not created a Groundwater Advisory Committee.
  9. The Town has not developed an effective density reduction program for the most densely populated areas; efforts are slow or stalled.
  10. No multi-year implementation budget for groundwater protection has been created.
  11. There is no Committee for a regional groundwater protection plan in conjunction with Southampton Town.
  12. There is no completed investigation of the source and extent of the toxic plume at the East Hampton Landfill; though the closing of the landfill proceeds, the only promise fulfilled.
  13. There has been no successful petitioning of the State for home-rule designation to allow a town pesticide management plan.
  14. There has been no funding to re-engineer storm water catch basins.
  15. There is no program to identify, test, and remove old buried fuel tanks.
  16. Within the plan process, subcommittees met and worked for a year, but the public hearings took place after, rather than during, the process as had been originally promised.
  17. No effort was ever made to balance or reconcile the conflicting demands of different interest groups, e.g., need for affordable housing, vs. density reduction/groundwater protection…..BROKEN PROMISES.
THE PLAN ITSELF IS IN LIMBO. IT APPEARS TO BE BEYOND THE POWERS OF THE TOWN BOARD TO RECONCILE THE CONFLICTS, CREATE THE NECESSARY LEGISLATION, AND TAKE ANY OF THE BOLD MEASURES THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO BRING ABOUT AN EFFECTIVE GROUNDWATER PROTECTIONS PLAN.

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION DELAYED IS GROUNDWATER PROTECTION DENIED!



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South Fork Groundwater Task Force
PO BOX 2360    Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Phone/Fax: 631 - 725 - 6200

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