The Sand Land mine on Middle Line Highway in Noyac is the recipient of an updated permit from the State Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as a brand-new cease-and-desist order from Southampton Town.
According to the D.E.C., the mine's newly modified permit was issued on April 30 and allows the mine to accept crushed stone, crushed concrete aggregate, and finished compost. Those were excluded from its allowed operations before that date, and mine inspection records indicate that some of those materials had been found during an inspection late in 2019.
The D.E.C. said in a statement this week that it approved the permit modification after "an extensive review" of it and the public comments received in February. The agency said it will continue "rigorous oversight of this facility to protect public health and the environment."
James Burke, a Southampton Town attorney, said by phone that "sand mining is one thing, and all these ancillary uses are another." He said the town had served Sand Land’s attorney, Brian Matthews, both a cease-and-desist order as well as a separate zoning violation.
"Although [the D.E.C.] issued the permit for the importation of the stone and other material, it was subject to local approval, which has not been obtained," Mr. Burke said in an email. He also asked the D.E.C. "to conduct their own review on whether the permit that was issued should be revoked for noncompliance with all of the conditions of the permit."
Mr. Matthews did not return requests for comment.
Sand Land's most recent inspection was prior to the issuance of the modified permit, on Feb. 22, online records show. An inspector's report from that date noted that the mine was in compliance with its permit.
Noyac residents are still frustrated over existing mining operations, which they allege have contaminated the groundwater. Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. said the state's new allowances for Sand Land "might have gotten lost in the sauce with Covid-19."
"That amendment was somewhat puzzling, because the approval got issued in the middle of the emergency, and it was a permit that really didn't deal with mining," Mr. Thiele said recently. "It dealt with other activities on the site. . . . The state is saying, 'It's okay with us.' But you still have to be in compliance with local law."
