Environment

Hearing on dumping in the Long Island Sound scheduled for Riverhead

Dredge-spoil-map-Long-Island-Sound

Should the federal government allow dumping of materials into the Long Island Sound? Here’s your chance to share your thoughts.

As part of the ongoing debate, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold two additional public hearings next week — one of which is on the North Fork.

The first of the two will be held Wednesday Sept. 16 at Hotel Indigo on Main Street in Riverhead. Registration for the hearing will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the hearing starts at 6 p.m.

The following day, a second hearing will be held in New Haven, CT.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the hearings will “solicit the public’s comments and input” on the Long Island Sound Draft Dredged and Material Management Plan (DMMP) and Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PIES) released on Aug. 17.

Critics of the proposals say the new rules allow the dumping of potentially toxic materials in the Long Island Sound from sites in Connecticut. Local officials, such as Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski, have openly opposed the regulations and some had criticized the Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency for not including enough public comment.

Copies of each plan can be found on the Corps website.

“Many are unaware that dredged material removed from Federal or private projects is subjected to rigorous physical, chemical and biological testing that not only tests the dredged material, but also the proposed placement site, as well as a ‘reference site,’ to ensure that the material is environmentally acceptable,” the Corps said in a release.

The public comment period on the DMMP and PEIS will now run through Oct. 16. If you can’t make the hearings, the Corps asks you send your comments by mail to the following address: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District (Attn: LIS DMMP/PEIS Program Manager Meghan Quinn) 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751.

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