TIMELINE OF WATERSHED PROTECTION PLANS
1993: The Pine Barrens Act was enacted to save the "Central Pine Barrens". At that time, Kevin McDonald (Group for South Fork) put in a provision that if they should opt to, the Pine Barrens Act could be extended to the South Fork
March 1997 - The South Fork Coalition for Fresh Water created a "Watershed Protection / Management Plan" for the South Fork. It includes trying to acquire the best of our NY State designated "Special Groundwater Protection Areas" on the South Fork.
July 1997 - Julie Penny gives a copy to Assemblyman Fred Thiele who starts initiating getting funding from County, State, Town to purchase the 516-acre racetrack property in Noyack
Fall of 1997- Julie Penny gives Supervisor Vince Cannuscio a copy of the "Watershed Protection/Management Plan" and doesn't do anything with it.
January 1998 - Julie Penny gives "Watershed Protection/Management Plan" to the ENTIRE Southampton Town Board & the Department of Land Management (along with the Noyac CAC review of "The DRAFT Comprehensive Masterplan Update) . Robert Duffy (Director of Land Management) shows an interest in it. But they do nothing with it.
November 1998- Fred Thiele starts drafting the framework for the Pine Barrens Extension Act.
June 30, 1999 - East Hampton unanimously "opts into" into the Pine Barrens Extension
June 30, 1999 - In an informal session the Southampton Board (Cannuscio, Heaney, Rogers, Drew, Halsey) speaks against "opting into" the Pine Barrens Extension / Cannuscio reports this negative vote to the Pine Barrens Commission (The Pine Barrens Commision-comprised of a representative of the DEC, Suffolk County, SCWA, the Brookhaven Supervisor, The Southampton Supervisor, et al. was formed when the original Pine Barrens Act was passed around 10 years ago-it meets once a month.)
August 3, 1999-In a Town Board meeting Skip Heaney says that he has written a proposal to "opt into" the Pine Barrens Extension program.
August 10, 1999 - The Southampton Board opts into the Pine Barrens Extension.
Aug1999-March 2000 - The East Hampton Supervisor, Southampton Supervisor (or their representatives) Kevin McDonald from the Group for South Fork, Raplh Schiano from The South Fork Groundwater Task Force, The Nature Conservancy, John Weibolt of The L.I. Builders Ass, et al. meet with The Pine Barren Commission every few weeks to prioritize important watershed lands to be acquired A map for acquisition and protection is created.
February 2000 - Southampton Town's Marty Shea gives a slide presentation showing the map of areas to be acquired/protected
March / April 2000 - Both East Hampton and Southampton drop out of the Pine Barrens Extension program and say they will do their OWN Watershed Protection Program.
June 2000- Fred Thiele starts drafting the "South Fork Drinking Water Protection Act of 2000 to be put up for the fall ballot by referendum for both towns.
August 2000 - A petition is circulated to get the requisite signatures for the referendum by a coalition of 20 civic and environmental organizations and businesses.
August 2000 - The petition is circulated with an attachment spelling out the plan and maps -The map is a cut down version of the one used for the Pine Barren Extension Act.
September 5, 2000 - The Towns of Southampton & East Hampton are presented with way over the requisite signatures on petitions needed for the referendum.
September 2000 - BOTH TOWNS RFUSE TO PUT IT ON THE BALLOT. Cannuscio &
Schniederman say they are opposed to the referendum contending that the land acquisition programs and other protective measures are already in place.
September 2000 - East Hampton & Southampton Town Boards hold a "Groundwater Summit" at which they pledge to work together and create a plan to protect the South Fork's groundwater resources.
October 2000 -The towns say they will come up with some sort of plan themselves.
November 2000- East Hampton passes a resolution regarding their own Watershed Program which will be in conjunction with Southampton
December 2000- Southampton Town Board passes a resolution for their own watershed program called: the "draft Critical Wildlands and Groundwater Protection Plan" (CWGPP) in which they list the names of committee that will review the plan-these committees include citizen & environmental representatives. The resolution also includes working with E.H. town.
June 12, 2001- The Southampton Town Board finally names individuals to these CWGGP Citizen Advisory Committees (CAC).
October 7, 2001 (present) - THESE COMMITTEES HAVE YET TO MEET TO REVIEW THIS PLAN!
ADDENDUM:
Ocotber 9, 2001 - Julie Penny went before the Town Board to complain that the committees had yet to meet to review their "Critical Wildlands and Groundwater Protection Plan" and they gave the excuse that the study for the "groundwater flow" from the recharge aquifers had not been completed yet and therefore futile for the committees to meet. However, there are many other aspects of the Plan that we can be meeting on: preserving ecological integrity and biodiversity of critical areas; protecting groundwater and surface water resources from nitrogen contamination and pollution; protecting public, private, municipal wells from land uses which pose threats to quality & quantity of groundwater; limiting development in sensitive ecological and hydrological areas. etc.
October - December 2001- Letters-to-the Editor, meetings of civic groups lobbying the Town to convene the Town appointed draft CWPP CAC's embarrass the Town enough so that they finally call a meeting of the draft CWGPP CAC's. It is evident to us that this is an in-house plan, a weak plan, with no public input.
December 2001- May 2002 - Despite repeated requests the Town does not reconvene its CWGPP CAC again. Julie Penny has to send out a dozen letters to the consultants, all members of the CWGPP Technical Advisory Committwee (TAC) and members of CWGPP CAC's in order to pressure the Town into another meeting. Julie Penny calls for a joint meeting of the TAC with the CAC's, which the town agrees to and is held May 23, 2002.
May 23, 2002- Joint meeting where data by the U. S. Geological Survey is presented. SFGTF hands in several pages of recommendations
May 2002- Late May, Jeff Murphree (Department of Land Management) who has been overseeing the whole project informs committees that we have to have our comments on the Town's draft plan as presented by the Town's Consultants, Allee, Rosen, King in by June 11, 2002 . (While the Town had 2 years to work on this plan, they only give the CAC's 2 weeks to read, and make comments on the plan.)
June 11, 2002 - SFGTF hands in 12 pages of recommendations and supporting materials, as there is a lot to be desired of the plan. It offers no real protection of the groundwater resource.
August 2002-Town Board passes a resolution to begin public hearings on the plan.
September 2002-The public, only has a few days to read the entire plan before the public hearings begin. Acting for SFGTF Julie Penny critiques its contents and disseminates it to other environmental and civic groups. The Town's "Plan" is deeply flawed and offers no concrete protection or ways of implementing the plan.
September 2002- First public meetig. The Town Board only allows 3 minutes per person to comment on the plan, and, it's the last thing on a full agenda .
Ocotber 2002-Second public meeting. The "Business Alliance" had sent out a scare letter to those living in the target area for the CWGPP that had distortions and lies. It had its intended effect and stirred people up who knew nothing of the contents of the plan. Town rebutted the distortions
November 2002- Third public hearing. Town said that it would change some of the zoning that was objectionable. SFGTF handed in an additional critique of the plan to the Town Board.
December 6, 2002 - Public Hearing was cancelled because of a lack of a quorum on the Town Board.
January 17, 2003, 7pm, -- The date of the next public hearing on the plan.
 South Fork Groundwater Task Force
PO BOX 2360 Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Phone/Fax: 631 - 725 - 6200
Site By: Hamptons Online
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