MEDIA RELEASE

MAY 13, 2008

CONTACT: JOSHUA SLAUGHTER
    Office:  (631) 852-1300
Cell:  (631) 456-1718
 Email: Joshua.Slaughter@suffolkcountyny.gov

SEWER DISTRICT STUDY TO COMMENCE FOR TRI-HAMLET

Browning Secures Authorization to Issue a Report and Recommendations for Creation of Sewers

Hauppauge, NY –Legislator Kate Browning (WF-Shirley) today secured the approval of the Suffolk County Legislature on a resolution that requires Suffolk County’s Department of Public Works to conduct an eight-month study throughout Shirley, Mastic, and Mastic Beach that would make recommendations on how to create a sewer district for the area.

The legislation sets the boundaries for the study as Montauk Highway to the north, William Floyd Parkway to the west, Neighborhood Road to the south, and the Forge River to the east. The three major business corridors on the peninsula fall within this target area, as well as a large portion of the Forge River watershed.

The Montauk Highway, Mastic Road, and Neighborhood Road business districts have been struggling to attract investment that would be critical to the local economy. A sewer district would allow for the types of businesses that the community has been lacking for years. In particular, residents nearby have been asking for more quality restaurants to be opened in the downtown areas. Currently this is difficult because septic systems do not meet Health Department requirements for such facilities. If sewers were constructed, restaurants could become a reality.  

“Economic revitalization cannot go forward until we build sewers,” stated Browning. “Inadequate septic systems have been holding this community back for decades. The economic boom that a sewer district would bring could solve many problems we are facing. Our downtowns would prosper, and in turn our property values would increase. This study is the beginning of a new start for the Mastic, Mastic Beach, and Shirley communities.”

The environmental benefits would also be substantial. The Forge River, which borders the eastern side of the peninsula, has been depleted of oxygen due to a heavy increase in nitrates entering the estuary. There have been several fish kills, and the river has been placed on the New York State impaired waters list. Preliminary conclusions point to failing septic systems as a major cause of increased nitrogen levels. The Carmans River to the west and Great South Bay to the south may begin to see similar problems if sewers are not constructed.

Connecting the local business districts and residential homes to sewers would eliminate this source of pollution, and help restore the Forge River as a recreational haven for local residents and visitors of Suffolk County.

“Our waterways are in jeopardy throughout Suffolk County, and some local waterways are already unable to sustain marine life in the tri-hamlet area,” said Browning. “Sewers could stop the bleeding that has already destroyed our environment, and at the same time prevent other estuaries from seeing the same fate as the Forge River.”

The department is required to submit a work plan for the report within 30 days, submit an update on its work after 120 days, and the final report is due in 240 days. Once completed, information will be available on the acreage of land needed for a wastewater treatment plant to service the community, possible locations to construct a facility, the cost to residents willing to hook up to the sewer district, and what type of sewer system is feasible for the area.