Sand mining politics a sandstorm for Southampton

Daily Point

Town board considers a mining ban

Controversy has simmered for years over whether New York State adequately regulates Long Island’s sand mines, amid concerns about their impact on groundwater below. There have been lawsuits, investigations and civic outcries in several locations.

Now the perennial background tension involving environmental activists on one side and industry on the other is driving a tart and gritty political skirmish at Town Hall in Southampton.

On Tuesday, the town board is due to take up a proposal to close sand mines on residentially zoned property. Backers of the move, including Democrats who have a town board majority, cite the town’s comprehensive groundwater plan and its zoning code. Opponents include John Tintle, who heads the 70-year-old East Coast Mines and Materials firm, and Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara, the board’s sole Republican.

As a lead-up to the hearings, East Coast Mines and Materials placed a full-page ad in the Southampton Press suggesting that campaign contributions are purchasing favorable treatment for property interests who don’t want the mining.

The ad uses photos of Robert Rubin, owner of The Bridge Golf Club, which adjoins Tintle’s Sand Land mine and who’s fought with it for years, and of Democratic Town Supervisor Maria Moore, both on satirical "Monopoly" cards.

"The Town of Southampton has proposed to shut down all mines within one year," the ad copy reads. "The town has not conducted any analysis of the potential impacts these closures would have on the entire construction trade," which uses sand in different granular sizes. The company also denies any study has shown groundwater contamination.

As is usually the case in extended fights, partisan campaign contributions checked by The Point have flowed both ways by jurisdiction and circumstance on this issue. In 2020, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who drew strong support from the construction industry, vetoed state legislation that would have allowed local governments greater control over sand mines.

Part of the local backdrop now: In a September 2023 letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assemb. Fred Thiele and other legislators claimed that the Sand Land operators dug deeper than allowed and threatened the purity of drinking water. They claimed that the Department of Environmental Conservation in 2019 had allowed a permit expansion for mining at the site without public review and zoning approval.

But Tintle has publicly cited a letter from the DEC’s director of mineral resources, Catherine Dickert, saying, "DEC has no data or studies to suggest that past and present sand and gravel mining at [the] six mines in Southampton have negatively affected the aquifer."

Grain by grain, over decades, the sand mine controversies have built one big political dune. And bitter winds are blowing again.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Trump visits a cathedral

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Quick Points

What’s really critical, anyway?

• The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says about 80 Long Island Rail Road bridges and other structures are in "critical" condition, but MTA officials also say that doesn’t mean they aren’t safe. Not sure that’s how most people would define "critical."
• After a fire destroyed its roof and spire and badly damaged its interior, Notre Dame Cathedral reopened Saturday in Paris just 5 ½ years later — or, as that would be called here, the speed of light.
• Asked whether he could assure Americans they won’t pay more for goods because of the tariffs he has threatened, President-elect Donald Trump said, "I can’t guarantee anything," a departure from his earlier promises. Mario Cuomo said you campaign in poetry and govern in prose. Now we have Trump’s twist: You campaign on guarantees and govern on reality.
• Perhaps the most sobering piece of perspective over the weekend came on Saturday, Dec. 7, at annual ceremonies recognizing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, with the realization that the youngest survivors of that awful day are now 100 years old. For how much longer will this be "a date which will live in infamy”?
• President-elect Donald Trump said there was a second reason he won the 2024 election beyond immigration: "I won on groceries. Very simple word, groceries. Like almost, you know, who uses the word. I started using the word." It’s its own punchline.
• "Polarization" is Merriam-Webster's 2024 word of the year. They're a little late to the party on this one, aren't they?

— Michael Dobie michael.dobie@newsday.com

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