Comment EI-33277
Received or sent (printed as 1/27/2024)
As residents of Commack who live close to the proposed Townline Rail Terminal we are deeply concerned with the environmental impacts of this project. Adjacent to this proposed terminal are multiple businesses that sell concrete products, asphalt, top soil, mulch, etc. These businesses already generate substantial truck traffic on Townline Road which is one lane in each direction. The Covanta Incinerator, serving the towns of Huntington and Smithtown generates heavy garbage truck traffic each week day. All this heavy duty diesel truck traffic not only passes through residential areas, but also a local elementary school and high school. The proposed rail terminal will house an additional 50 tractor-trailers, vastly multiplying the amount of polluting truck traffic on this one lane road. Secondly, we are extremely concerned about hazardous materials being handled and transported over a property that lies within a deep recharge aquifer protection zone, the sole source of our drinking water. Should a rail accident occur, as has happened in other localities, not only will our drinking water but also our air quality will be affected. We are concerned about the environmental impact on our children, seniors and others with health issues. We are also concerned about the dust generated from the handling of incinerator ash and other hazardous materials on that site. What happens to the dust on windy days? What will the air quality be for nearby residents and school children on those days? If the dust is to be watered down, if that's continuously possible, where does that contaminated water go when it hits the ground? Into the aquifer? We believe there should be a county-wide solution to the problem of disposing incinerator ash once the Brookhaven Landfill closes. An alternative site would be the unused Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center (100's of acres) with large buffers from residents and an existing rail spur. There are alternative sites better suited for Suffolk County.
Submitted by: Alan and Judy Feigelson · Commack, NY
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-36575/comment/EI-33277 · back to the docket sheet