Southampton Town approves plan to phase out sand mines
East Coast Mines and Materials in East Quogue is one of the facilities slated to close if Southampton votes to eliminate sand mining in the town. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
The Town of Southampton approved plans to close sand mines near residential areas, giving operators up to seven years to wind down operations.
The law, approved Tuesday in a 3-1-1 vote, targets sand mines in residential areas and in special groundwater districts where water recharge is deepest. The “intensive” use of sand mines in these areas “jeopardizes” the region's drinking water, drawn solely from the underground aquifer, according to a town resolution.
The board's vote capped a contentious monthslong debate. Environmentalists say mining is harmful because the sand works as a protective layer covering the aquifer. The act of breaking the sand up can cause pollutants to taint the groundwater, backers of the measure have argued. But opponents of the bill say it will deal a devastating blow to the construction and mining industries because sand is a key component of concrete and asphalt.
The measure sets deadlines for sand mines to close depending on how much state-approved excavation work has already occurred.
“This is not a law to shut down the mines in one year,” Supervisor Maria Moore said before the vote. The law allows the town to “eliminate the nonconforming mine uses over time, and bring all into conformity so that everyone lives by the same rules," she said.
Town officials count seven mining sites that would be affected by the legislation, though not all are currently active.
Miners can seek extensions from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which will consider how much sand is left to excavate according to permits issued by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The town code outlawed new sand mines in 1983, and existing facilities were grandfathered in, town officials said.
Public hearings on the proposal, introduced last October, sparked debate that pitted property rights and the region’s economic dependence on sand as a building material against threats to water quality.
Elena Loreto, a former president of the Noyac Civic Council, lives near the Sand Land mine in Noyac and urged the board to pass the measure.
“We really have to protect our aquifer before [pollution] seeps … it eventually will overtake our aquifer, and we really don’t want that,” Loreto said at the meeting.
Bob DeLuca, president of Group for the East End, said in a statement that "sand mines create a very similar pathway for contaminants to enter the underground aquifer and leach potential contaminants into our drinking water."
Sand Land owner John Tintle denies that mining has contaminated water in Noyac and has been mired in litigation with the town to continue operating at the property.
State Supreme Court Justice Thomas F. Whelan dismissed Sand Land's lawsuit on March 21, upholding a 2023 ruling that annulled the company's permit. In a text message Wednesday, Tintle said the measure could result in Long Island exporting less sand.
“This could have a profound effect on the price of concrete and asphalt in the downstate region,” Tintle said.
Republican Cyndi McNamara cast the sole vote against the bill. Councilman Richard Martel, a Republican who won a special election to the board in March, abstained from the vote.
McNamara said the process was rushed and that town officials should have consulted more members of the community.
“None of the adverse impacts have been studied,” she said at the meeting.
The Town of Southampton approved plans to close sand mines near residential areas, giving operators up to seven years to wind down operations.
The law, approved Tuesday in a 3-1-1 vote, targets sand mines in residential areas and in special groundwater districts where water recharge is deepest. The “intensive” use of sand mines in these areas “jeopardizes” the region's drinking water, drawn solely from the underground aquifer, according to a town resolution.
The board's vote capped a contentious monthslong debate. Environmentalists say mining is harmful because the sand works as a protective layer covering the aquifer. The act of breaking the sand up can cause pollutants to taint the groundwater, backers of the measure have argued. But opponents of the bill say it will deal a devastating blow to the construction and mining industries because sand is a key component of concrete and asphalt.
The measure sets deadlines for sand mines to close depending on how much state-approved excavation work has already occurred.
“This is not a law to shut down the mines in one year,” Supervisor Maria Moore said before the vote. The law allows the town to “eliminate the nonconforming mine uses over time, and bring all into conformity so that everyone lives by the same rules," she said.
Town officials count seven mining sites that would be affected by the legislation, though not all are currently active.
Miners can seek extensions from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which will consider how much sand is left to excavate according to permits issued by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The town code outlawed new sand mines in 1983, and existing facilities were grandfathered in, town officials said.
Public hearings on the proposal, introduced last October, sparked debate that pitted property rights and the region’s economic dependence on sand as a building material against threats to water quality.
Elena Loreto, a former president of the Noyac Civic Council, lives near the Sand Land mine in Noyac and urged the board to pass the measure.
“We really have to protect our aquifer before [pollution] seeps … it eventually will overtake our aquifer, and we really don’t want that,” Loreto said at the meeting.
Bob DeLuca, president of Group for the East End, said in a statement that "sand mines create a very similar pathway for contaminants to enter the underground aquifer and leach potential contaminants into our drinking water."
Sand Land owner John Tintle denies that mining has contaminated water in Noyac and has been mired in litigation with the town to continue operating at the property.
State Supreme Court Justice Thomas F. Whelan dismissed Sand Land's lawsuit on March 21, upholding a 2023 ruling that annulled the company's permit. In a text message Wednesday, Tintle said the measure could result in Long Island exporting less sand.
“This could have a profound effect on the price of concrete and asphalt in the downstate region,” Tintle said.
Republican Cyndi McNamara cast the sole vote against the bill. Councilman Richard Martel, a Republican who won a special election to the board in March, abstained from the vote.
McNamara said the process was rushed and that town officials should have consulted more members of the community.
“None of the adverse impacts have been studied,” she said at the meeting.
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