The Town of Brookhaven has set a date for the public meeting to discuss the Corrective Measures Assessment for Friday, March 27 at 4 p.m. in the town hall auditorium, located at 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville.
In January of this year, the Department of Environmental Conservation approved an extension to the Corrective Measures Assessment deadline. Then, in February, they issued an update with additional correspondence concerning the extension.
According to town representatives, legal notices were published the week of March 10, and letters went out to all residents and property owners within 500 feet of the downgradient historic plume area of within 1,000 feet of the landfill footprint.
Additionally, the public hearing information was posted on the Department of Environmental Conservation website: dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/waste-management/solid-waste-program/brookhaven-landfill.
On Feb. 26, the Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group held a press conference at the Town of Brookhaven. The press conference was sparked by the Town of Brookhaven delaying the mandated special hearing.
Advocates from Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group (BLARG) and other local groups came together to urge the town council and town supervisor, Dan Panico, to set a date for the mandated special meeting regarding the Brookhaven groundwater plume.
On Jan. 8, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) extended the deadline for completion of the Corrective Measures Assessment period and Report submission to ensure a complete assessment and adequate public engagement for the Town of Brookhaven’s landfill closure.
At that time, the DEC said the town must host a public meeting and conclude their assessment by April 15, 2026, and submit the Corrective Measures Assessment Report by May 1, 2026, a three-month extension from previous requirements.
The cleanup report was ordered by the DEC after “forever chemicals” were found in a plume surrounding the landfill after inspection last year. Forever chemicals, known as PFAS, are resistant to breaking down, allowing them to build up in the environment, wildlife, and humans, posing health and environmental concerns.
The extension, according to Citizens Campaign for the Environment executive director Adrienne Esposito, is “completely unnecessary.”
“This is not even a large or complicated plume,” she added. “The longer they delay the cleanup, the further the contamination will spread and the more damage the plume will do.”
However, according to the DEC, the extension will allow for focused completion of the draft Corrective Measures Assessment Report with time for adequate public engagement.
“We’re going to have a much more meaningful community gathering and meeting with better prepared engineers,” supervisor Dan Panico said of the extension earlier this year, noting that the DEC agreed. “More time was needed to ensure the meeting would be meaningful; there is no sense in having a meeting if one is not ready to be had.”
The larger issue, he said, is focusing the state’s energy on figuring out what comes after the landfill closes. The town most recently completed capping another 23-acre portion of the landfill, according to Panico, which now equates to a total of 75 to 77 percent capped.
The landfill solely accepts ash waste from the regional facilities formerly known as Covanta and, according to the DEC, it must be completely filled and capped for closure.
Additionally, the town stopped collecting commercial and demolition waste as of Dec. 31, 2024. Panico stated the landfill is still on schedule to close by the third quarter of 2028, likely, he said, depending on volume.
As for the alternatives after the landfill closes, even with the renewed ash facilities agreements, Panico explained, both the Kings Park and Brookhaven Town rail proposals were stalled or nixed.
After years of planning for the Brookhaven Rail terminal, the Long Island Advance reported the proposed Winters Bros. rail-based waste-transfer facility, which was going to move ash waste from Long Island by train to reduce truck traffic, was dropped in 2024.
As for the landfill, Panico said that former supervisor Ed Romaine’s plans for an energy park will continue, though it has changed, with plans for six 5-megawatt solar farms and a new substation.
The 50-acre landfill is Brookhaven Town property, located at 350 Horseblock Road in Yaphank.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here