Focus on Wastewater Management Starts Monday

A meeting will be held Monday afternoon for the community to discuss the future of the town's wastewater management, as the town's new initiative begins. 

The East Hampton Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan project initiation meeting will include a discussion of three inter-related components: wastewater management, Scavenger Waste management and water quality monitoring.

Pio Lombardo, P.E. of Lombardo Associates, will address wastewater and waste components, while Kevin Phillips, P.E. and Stephanie Davis of FPM, will address the water quality monitoring component.

"The meeting will present the project's science based methodology for integrating the three components for defining the corrective actions needed to achieve environmental and economic sustainability, to restore the impaired waters in East Hampton and to protect the Town's valuable aquatic resources," a description of the meeting reads. 

The town's Department of Natural Resources will work on the project with the help of Natural Resources Director Kim Shaw. 

"Through this project’s initiation, the Town of East Hampton has made a significant financial and political commitment to achieve environmental/economic sustainability with respect to its wastewater management practices guided by a water  quality monitoring plan. The overall Plan is intended to provide the basis of and plans for corrective actions and long term, sustainable environmental stewardship," the town said. 

The project will include public participation and monthly meetings for six to eight months. A website has also been set up with information for the public. 

The East Hampton Business Alliance, which asked the town board for a study but is not involved in the organization of the meeting, sent out an alert to members in the hopes the community will attend. "This could impact every property owner in EH so the better educated everyone is the better," Margaret Turner, the executive director of the business alliance, said.

"The EHBA is very concerned about protecting our water bodies, drinking water and aquifers. We supported and continue to support investigative studies at the landfill to determine what has leeched into the ground; and what solutions are available to rectify any issues found," Turner said. "The stench emanating from the landfill has been a problem for years and can no longer be ignored." 

Turner said the community needs to do its homework. "This is all part of the big picture - our infrastructure- that the town really needs to look at. Things have been done piece meal and that is coming back to haunt us," she said. 

"The Town needs to evaluate our population, project what it will consist of and what their needs will be over the next 5-10-20 years; then look at our hamlets and businesses and determine what they should look like in order to support the population. This is something the EHBA has been asking Town Boards to do for years."

The meeting, which will be held at Town Hall, begins at 1 p.m.