The East Hampton Town Board got a double dose of the Whalen brothers last Thursday when Robert and Richard Whalen each addressed the board about the proposed Montauk sewage treatment plant.
Two weeks ago, the trustees of the Suffolk County Parks Commission voted unanimously to reject the town-county land swap that is a cornerstone of the proposal. However, should the board now choose to push the plan forward with the County Legislature, the brothers let them know that the Coalition for Hither Woods is watching. The message: Don’t do it.
Richard Whalen, an Amagansett attorney and the coalition’s founder, told board members the group will continue to support the town in its efforts to improve Montauk’s environment, but will oppose any encroachment on the hamlet’s parks. Mr. Whalen has enlisted numerous environmental groups around Long Island in his locally popular quest to kill the sewage treatment facility, proposed for land now owned by the county in Hither Woods.
Robert Whalen stressed that the location is on top of a county Special Groundwater Protection Area, “an irreplaceable supply of Montauk’s sole-source drinking water.”