The Town of Brookhaven is moving forward on a long-sought sewer project for the Mastic-Shirley area by authorizing an intermunicipal agreement with Suffolk County.
The move comes as the county uses $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the project, which includes replacing aging septic systems and building a centralized treatment plant and pump stations.
“The project is so complicated and involved that it even needed state help which regards the alienation of property for the sewage treatment plant,” said Town Supervisor Dan Panico during an Aug. 29 board meeting.
This funding is part of a larger federal grant of nearly $30 million to aid county water infrastructure. The rest of the money will fund the next phase of the Forge River sewer project, which aims to clean up the waterway and connect more than 1,800 homes and 150 businesses to a new treatment facility in the Town of Brookhaven. It will also eliminate thousands of outdated cesspools and septic systems that contribute to the river's nitrogen pollution.
Following the completion of this project, which is expected to take several years, owners who receive sewer hookups can expect to pay an average of $470 per year in sewer taxes and maintenance costs.
The sewer system overhaul is projected to support the Mastic Beach Downtown Revitalization project, which consists of 37 acres and more than 100 properties. Panico said the goal is to revive a vibrant community by maximizing the area’s functionality and increasing the attractiveness of new restaurants and businesses.
“You can zone anything you want, but if you cannot flush the toilet, you cannot meet the vitalization people want to see,” he said.
In 2006, then-County Legislator Kate Browning proposed the sewage development project; however, the project didn’t have enough funds to progress until 2012 after Hurricane Sandy. A tri-hamlet sewer project was kickstarted by a federal Sandy relief bill. The hurricane’s impact elevated the environmental and health issue of excess nutrients in nearby wetlands from cesspools and septic systems.
During last month’s meeting, the town board also considered the sewer project's impact in alleviating flooding and stormwater drainage systems. Another resolution the board passed focuses on destroying property in the Mastic-Shirley area to designate flood zones.
“More often than not, in the middle of the island, we think that we are so high up that we are immune to some of the flood effects,” said Town Council member Neil Manzella. “When in fact it's quite the opposite, there are areas that are so overdeveloped, it's a very dense district.”
Panico credits the project’s implementation to Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, who previously was Brookhaven town supervisor.
“He and his office have been working diligently to make sure that this project, which is the Beechwood project, gets off the ground in an area that needs help down in Mastic Beach,” Panico said. “While it will cost a great more [than $20 million] and those costs will be borne by the developer, this $20 million is a great shot in the arm to help this project on its way.”
