Has Sand Land dug itself into oblivion?
Daily Point
South Fork mining operation worries environmentalists
Could the sands of time be finally running out for a huge sand mine in the Hamptons some critics call ‘the Grand Canyon of the South Fork’?
A metal chain stretched across the entrance of the Sand Land Corp. mining site, preventing access to its cavernous sand pit in Noyac, has been up since Dec. 22. And critics are hoping it may be an early sign of a permanent shutdown at the site after a long legal dispute.
Sand Land has been battling for years with Southampton Town officials and local environmentalists who contend that the company’s sand-mining operation threatens local underground water supplies and that it has been excavating sand beyond its legal permit to provide to the concrete and construction industries.
“They went way beyond what they are legally able to do,” Assemb. Fred W. Thiele Jr. (D-Sag Harbor) told The Point. Thiele and others have complained that the state Department of Environmental Conservation has been too slow and not vigilant enough in curbing illegal sand mining at the 30-acre site.
In a September 2023 letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Thiele and other legislators claimed that the Sand Land operators dug much deeper than allowed and threatened local drinking water. They said that the DEC in 2019 had allowed a permit expansion for mining at the site “behind closed doors” without public review and zoning approval from town officials. They asked Hochul to shut it down.
Since 2019 until now, Thiele and other critics say, more than 1 billion pounds — worth millions of dollars — was mined improperly and hauled away.
In April 2023, the DEC issued a violation notice to Sand Land for allegedly resuming mining at the site after a Feb. 29, 2023 ruling by the New York Court of Appeals annulling the company’s permit granted by the DEC without Southampton Town’s zoning approval. While that April violation notice is being litigated in court, Sand Land has also filed a separate lawsuit in a last-ditch attempt to keep part of the Noyac site open, state officials say.
Nevertheless, since December, when the metal chain went up at the mine's entrance, there has been no back and forth of trucks carrying sand from the site, according to Thiele and DEC officials. The Point sought comment from Sand Land attorney Gregory Brown without success. However, DEC officials told The Point that Sand Land officials indicated their intention to shut down mining operations by the end of December 2023, around the same time that the metal chain at the entrance appeared.
Overall, the DEC is conducting a review of Long Island’s more than 20 sand mine operations, all of which are located in Suffolk County, to make sure they are conforming to current town zoning and don’t have an impact on local groundwater supplies.
Sand is the “gold” of Long Island, a key natural resource especially useful for local industries that depend upon it for concrete-making and construction. For decades, the fine crystalline grains from sand mining have helped to build many local structures, miles of roadways, and Manhattan skyscrapers. As for the Sand Land mine in Noyac, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said the agency has been negotiating “to put the mine on the pathway to closure.” In the meantime, neighbors in Noyac are looking to see whether the metal chain at the entrance ever comes down.
— Thomas Maier thomas.maier@newsday.com
Pencil Point
A shot at second place
For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons
Final Point
Is Keiserman a favored Dem in SD7?
Even as all of Long Island’s political eyes are turned to the CD3 race between Tom Suozzi and Mazi Melesa Pilip, candidates are already gearing up for what could be a heated race in the 7th State Senate District — a district that covers some of CD3’s territory.
Port Washington resident Kim Keiserman is holding a “campaign kickoff” on Jan. 25 at the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club. But what’s interesting beyond the Keiserman fundraiser is the list of nearly three dozen names she lists as “hosts” of the event. Among them: Former CD3 candidate Robert Zimmerman, Nassau Legislature minority leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, former North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, and current North Hempstead councilwoman Mariann Dalimonte.
“She’s already demonstrated great community leadership and a great commitment to the issues,” Zimmerman told The Point. “She’ll be an exemplary state senator.”
So far, the Nassau County Democratic Party hasn’t officially picked a candidate for the race.
“Over the next two or three weeks I certainly will be expecting to weigh in,” Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs told The Point Friday. “Our goal is to limit a primary. I’m hearing from major donors and others who want to know what the party is doing and who the party will support before they contribute — and that’s typical and appreciated. We have to make some decisions.”
But several observers told The Point that many of the political players on Keiserman’s list likely wouldn’t back any candidate, including Keiserman, without at least a “wink and a nod,” as two different sources put it, from Jacobs.
Among other candidates in the mix for the nomination are former Nassau Legis Josh Lafazan, who officially declared his candidacy on social media on Thursday, and Rory Lancman, the president of the Great Neck Library board, who previously was a State Assembly member when he lived in Queens.
“I’ve served this community for 10 years. I’m grateful for the continued support of people across the district and we’ll have a formidable war chest to be able to win this primary and to win a general,” Lafazan told The Point.
But Lancman said that while he wants the party’s support, he wouldn’t go ahead with a primary campaign if the party chose someone else.
“I think it’s incredibly important that the party unite behind one candidate and not waste resources in a primary,” Lancman said. “I think I bring a lot to the table in terms of experience both as a candidate and as a public official and can win what is still a very difficult race. But the party has to decide behind whom it wants to coalesce.”
Keiserman, who highlighted coastal resiliency and the environment, gun violence and reproductive rights as among her key issues, said she’s now focused on fundraising, building support and creating a campaign infrastructure. The list of “hosts” for her fundraiser, Keiserman said, includes people she has worked with to elect other Democrats, which gives her a ready-built infrastructure, including community activists, elected officials and former candidates for office.
“They are people I respect and I’m glad I have their respect in return,” Keiserman told The Point. “In the meantime, we’re planning for a very big event that will build excitement that will propel the campaign forward.”
— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com
Programming Point
The Point will be back Tuesday, Jan. 16.
Subscribe to The Point here and browse past editions of The Point here.