Brookhaven landfill, Israel's war with Hamas, Kevin McCarthy's ouster
The Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group demonstrates in Bellport on Earth Day in April. Credit: Daniel Goodrich
Concerns grow over Brookhaven landfill
It’s interesting to read how the Town of Brookhaven has dealt with residents’ concerns regarding their health and safety [“Amid ash concerns, Brookhaven sided with incinerator,” News, Oct. 9]. The town is now faced with another situation regarding residents’ health and safety.
A 124-unit lithium battery storage facility has been proposed to be placed on the Long Island Expressway South Service Road in Holtsville. It is not uncommon for these units to overheat and burn, releasing lethal and toxic fumes into the air. These fires are not easy to extinguish.
This location is surrounded by homes, businesses and schools less than a half-mile away. The towns of Huntington, Riverhead and East Hampton have imposed a moratorium on these facilities until safety issues can be addressed. The Town of Islip refused a permit for a similar facility a half-mile from the proposed one in Brookhaven.
How will Brookhaven and Town Supervisor Edward P. Romaine respond when considering the health and safety of the residents living near this site?
Will Brookhaven grant a permit?
— Mark Galligan, Holbrook
The state Department of Environmental Conservation takes seriously the allegations raised in litigation over past practices at Covanta Hempstead and understands the concerns community leaders provided in Newsday’s “Buried secrets” series.
While DEC is not a party to the lawsuit, if any of the claims about operations during 2006 to 2014 are true, DEC stands ready to address any violations.
Under Commissioner Basil Seggos’ leadership, DEC experts are held to the highest standards. Our focus is on science, protection of the environment, and community well-being. DEC has taken aggressive action in the years since the whistleblower’s observations to require Covanta to improve ash handling and disposal.
DEC also took strong enforcement at the Brookhaven Town landfill to prevent off-site impacts on surrounding communities, and when the landfill ceases operation in the near future, DEC will continue to closely monitor its closure and post-closure care and maintenance to ensure compliance.
DEC’s current oversight is important, but so is the hard look under way to determine if there were any past violations at Covanta or the landfill facilities. We are committed to taking appropriate action if violations are identified to ensure Brookhaven and all Long Islanders are protected.
— Cathy Haas, Albany
The writer is the state Department of Environmental Conservation regional director for Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Disparate views on the war in Israel
This wasn’t warfare [“ ‘Complete siege’ ordered on Gaza,” News, Oct. 10]. This wasn’t civilians being caught by gunfire between attackers and soldiers, defending bases and infrastructures. This was utter barbarity and terrorism. Civilians were the targets. Dragged out of their homes and shot (including children) or kidnapped. Attacked attending a music festival, for heaven’s sake, again, either shot or kidnapped.
Real soldiers would be horrified and repelled by these perpetrators. If outnumbered and outgunned, soldiers make attacks on armed bases and infrastructure. Civilians may get hurt, but they are never the targets. There are rules even in irregular warfare.
— Phyllis S. Schmutz, Nesconset
The notion of a war suggests roughly equal sides fighting because civilized discussions broke down. That isn’t what we have here despite most media accounts. Israel is believed to have nuclear weapons and is said to have a powerful military force. The Israeli government has colonized Palestinian land, seen as an apartheid state by many.
Such a separation has consequences, and the oppressed Palestinians are lashing out. But they are no match for Israel. The United States is complicit with the billions of dollars in weapons and money it supplies Israel every year.
Many Americans might benefit from revisiting our own history and the modern history of that region to understand what’s really happening on the ground.
— Robert Mays, Freeport
A step backward with McCarthy’s ouster
It is ironic that the speaker of the House was removed because of his support to keep the government funded for a limited time “Aftereffects of ousting McCarthy,” News, Oct. 8]. The Republican Party’s extreme right members won.
They kicked out Kevin McCarthy as House speaker and shut down the House for a week in one swoop, holding the greater good of our nation as hostage. Rather than doing what they were elected to do, they let their petty grievances take on greater importance.
McCarthy most likely would have suffered this same fate in the future anyway. He demonstrated twice that he was willing to keep the government funded. Will the next speaker do that? He supported funding Ukraine. Will the next speaker do that?
By removing McCarthy, the House may have taken another step backward from getting a bipartisan government that can work for us.
— Patrick Ehmann, Ronkonkoma
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