Foes of Yaphank waste transfer station charge lack of transparency

Opponents of a proposed Yaphank waste transfer station say they are frustrated by what they call secret deliberations about the plan among the Town of Brookhaven, the project's developer and a little-known federal regulatory agency.

State NAACP leaders said Wednesday in a news release town officials should "come clean" on discussions about the facility, which would process up to 2,000 tons daily of construction and demolition debris to be shipped by rail off Long Island. The statement echoed previous comments by Farmingdale-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment, which has questioned aspects of the proposal.

Brookhaven officials, the federal Surface Transportation Board and West Babylon-based developer Winters Bros. Waste Systems deny they are keeping anything from the public, noting that plans for the project were announced last year and have been detailed on a company website and in newspaper stories.

State NAACP president Hazel Dukes said Friday officials have provided only unsatisfactory answers to questions from local residents about the project's potential impact on their health and the local economy.

"They haven’t been willing to sit down and hear all the questions that the community have and they have not been willing to be transparent," she said in a telephone interview. "We want them to sit down and tell us why this project is necessary. What benefits does this bring to the community?"

Citizens Campaign executive director Adrienne Esposito said some aspects of the Winters Bros. plan — such as moving trash by rail rather than trucks — are worth considering. But she said the role of the federal agency, which regulates rail and other transportation projects, made her fear Brookhaven officials would not have the final say in approving the project.

"There is no rational reason why the Winters Bros. project should be exempt from local zoning. Public input and transparency are critical for these larger-scale projects," she said Friday. "You can’t on the one hand say you want to be transparent and then on the other hand hide your project from the locals."

Brookhaven and Winters Bros. officials have said the $182 million transfer station, on a wooded 228-acre site off Horseblock Road, is needed to help compensate for the planned December 2024 closure of the Brookhaven landfill, one of the last municipal landfills on Long Island.

Officials have said the facility would help the region by reducing air pollution from truck traffic as well as making illegal dumping less likely. Winters Bros. vice president Will Flower said the project would create 1,800 construction jobs and up to 1,800 permanent positions.

Flower said he was "dismayed" by the NAACP news release and said the company had offered to discuss the project with NAACP officials.

"This thing has been anything but secret," he said. "It has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles. We ourselves have launched a website. We send out weekly newsletters about the project. We even went so far as to participate in an advertising campaign in which we did a video about the project."

Brookhaven Town Attorney Annette Eaderesto said the project is under review by the town and the federal agency, adding it must face public hearings before it is approved.

"When the day comes that the town takes an official action, it will be at a town board meeting," she said. "It’s not something that is going to be squirreled away."

The town, Winters Bros. and the surface transportation board on June 18 concluded talks with a federal mediator aimed at amending a provision of a 2016 legal settlement that governs land use at the site. The mediation was confidential under federal law, officials said.

The agreement would allow Winters Bros. to use a 3-acre section of a 68-acre conservation easement for construction of a rail spur. In exchange, the town would receive 6 acres for the easement. The agreement would void previous plans to excavate a tunnel for the rail spur, officials said.

The agreement, however, requires state legislation to permit construction on the easement. A bill sponsored by State Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and Assemb. Joseph DeStefano (R-Medford) was not passed before the Legislature ended its session earlier this month.

Palumbo and DeStefano did not return calls for comment.

Flower said the company planned to have the bill reintroduced next year.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.