FAQ’s

Why doesn’t the Town put the proposed Hither Woods Sewage Treatment Plant in the former Montauk landfill site?

That would be extremely costly. The old landfill was closed and capped in the early 1990s. Most of the landfill site is occupied by the cap itself, which is impervious to water. Drainage structures to handle water flowing down from the cap occupy most of the rest of the property. To reuse the landfill, the cap and all the waste buried beneath it from 1963 to the early 1990s would have to be excavated and trucked away, at great expense and inconvenience. Also, for what it’s worth, the capped landfill today has one of  most panoramic views on Long Island, with parkland all around and Block Island Sound in view to the north.

Additionally, at the Nov 17, 2021 Wastewater Committee Meeting, the Town conceded that the subsurface drainage structures at the “landfill” cannot be removed, therefore making the area to small to accommodate the Sewage Treatment Plant.

Is there an option besides asking Suffolk County for a parcel of what is now parkland? 

Yes. Suffolk County owns the 19 acre Edward V. Ecker County Park on Navy Road bordering Hither Woods and Fort Pond Bay. East Hampton Town could simply trade the newly acquired $4 million, 18.8 on East Lake Drive (aka “Highland Meadows”) with the 19 acre Edward V. Ecker County Park.

The County would acquire land bounded by other Suffolk County Parkland and East Hampton would acquire the same. And Suffolk County would not have to involve itself in park alienation issues & other East Hampton politics of sewage water plant locations. 

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