State: Island wetlands rules prevail
Town officials have repeatedly told the state Department ofEnvironmental Conservation (DEC) that Shelter Island is a uniqueplace with a fragile aquifer that requires rigorous oversight ofcommercial pesticides and other contaminants. At an environmentalsummit of sorts up-island last week, the DEC acknowledged thetown’s right to enforce its wetlands laws, which are stricter thanthe state’s and include limits on pesticide and fertilizer useintended to protect the environment.
“They really brought everybody, Town Supervisor Jim Doughertysaid of the January 29 meeting at DEC regional headquarters inStony Brook.
“Everyone there agreed … that Shelter Island is different, Mr.Dougherty said during Tuesday’s Town Board work session. “Theyagreed to give us enforcement opportunities, as long as we pitch itas environmental protection.
In other words, the town has “a modified yellow if not a greenlight, Mr. Dougherty said, to enforce pesticide and fertilizersetback rules in the town wetlands law, Chapter 129 of town code,so long as the focus is on habitat protection and not on regulationof commercial pesticide applicators.
When the town attempted to enforce its law prohibiting chemicalapplications within 100 feet of the tidal wetlands, localapplicators objected, saying that they are regulated by the DEC andstate law, not the town code. That scenario played out in June 2007when the Building Department’s Chris Tehan investigated a violationof the setback rule and brought the issue to the Town Board’sattention. At the time, the board discussed removing the localsetback rule but took no action.
Attending Friday’s summit were Regional Director Peter Scully,Special Assistant to the Commissioner Vincent Palmer and DECofficials from the pesticides, freshwater wetlands, water andPeconic Estuary Program divisions.
The town was represented by Supervisor Dougherty, CouncilmanGlenn Waddington, Town Attorney Laury Dowd, Water AdvisoryCommittee Chairman John Hallman, Deer and Tick Committee ChairwomanRae Lapides, Police Department clerk Jennifer Zacha and GreenOptions Committee member Karla Friedlich. Another key player inattendance was Ron Paulsen, the Suffolk County Health Serviceshydrologist who has access not only to data from the town’s sixmonitoring wells but to water sample analyses from hundreds ofprivate wells on Shelter Island.
Mr. Dougherty said that adopting state-mandated MS4 runoff rulesstrengthened the town’s hand in asserting an enforcement role asdid the board’s unprecedented ban on geothermal systems.
Cooperation from the state agency is being offered on anotherfront. The DEC is providing data on pesticides applied within thetown’s two ZIP codes by contractors they license. The data isrough, listing EPA registration numbers rather than chemical names,Mr. Waddington said during an interview Tuesday. But the numberscan be correlated to products such as Astro, the brand name for apermethrin formula sprayed on lawns to kill ticks.
“Like anything with bureaucracies, you’ve got to keep thepressure on, Mr. Waddington said. He came away from the meetingwith an overall “positive feeling but commented about the DEC, “I’mstill frustrated. I think they are incapable of enforcing pesticideuse. He gave this example: If a neighbor called to complain about acommercial applicator spraying near the wetlands, he would be goneby the time a DEC officer could get to Shelter Island, if the statesent anyone.
Mr. Palmer of the DEC, interviewed as the Reporter went topress, said that even without a police-like response, the agencywill prosecute violators of state law. Any violation of the localwetlands rules, however, would be within the town’s jurisdiction,he emphasized. When asked if the DEC would become involved shouldan applicator protest a town wetlands enforcement action, he saidno.
But he cautioned that while the DEC generally acknowledges thetown’s stricter wetlands law, any specific application of it mustnot conflict with the agency’s exclusive jurisdiction to regulatepesticides. “It’s very complex, he said.
On Tuesday, Ms. Dowd interpreted the DEC’s position. “I got asense that the DEC, like us, is trying to accomplish its goals withlimited staff and manpower … They can use all the help they canget.
The DEC may soon be relinquishing more wetlands authority totowns. On January 25, Assemblyman Fred Thiele announced a proposalto change state law so that wetlands jurisdiction is shifted fromthe DEC to any towns with wetlands programs that are equally ormore protective of the environment than state law.
Like the DEC, Suffolk County is ready to provide moreenvironmental information. At last week’s meeting, town officialsasked the county’s Ron Paulsen to summarize data from private wellson a monthly basis, without disclosing any names or addresses, Mr.Waddington said. And Mr. Hallman has invited Mr. Paulsen to speakthis spring about the Island’s drinking water at a public forumaimed at homeowners.
Mr. Paulsen also noted that about 100 samples from private wellshave been analyzed for permethrin, with no trace of the tickicidedetected, Mr. Dougherty reported. “The news isn’t as good on MTBE,a gasoline additive, he added. The chemical was detected in samplesfrom at least two private properties on the Island last year.
Mr. Hallman, interviewed on Monday, described the meeting as”actually, very good. The DEC “acknowledged that the town’sstricter rules should apply … At least it’s the first line ofdefense in keeping Island water quality high. He also said thathe’s glad that the county will “put us in the loop shouldcontaminants be detected in private wells.
“The goal is to keep our water potable, Mr. Hallman said.