The Suffolk County
Trap & Skeet Range is located in
Southaven County Park in the Core
Preservation Area of the Pine Barrens
and it rests very close to the Carmans
River.
Naturally, we as a community are
concerned for our own health and quality
of life issues, but just as importantly
we (as do many other Long Island
residents) enjoy the presence of the
Carmans River and are concerned about
its future health.
But the bigger picture here is that the
presence of this shooting range in an
environmentally sensitive area threatens
an ecosystem which has been designated
by New York State as an environmentally
critical and sensitive watershed and
more importantly threatens the health of
the Carmans River - the last relatively
pristine river left on Long Island.
The
CARMANS RIVER
WATERSHED AND MANAGEMENT PROTECTION PLAN
outlines a
detailed effort to preserve and protect
the Carmans River but
it is
simply not possible to have any serious
discussion about protecting and
preserving the Carmans River Watershed
without addressing the existence and
effect of the Suffolk County Trap and
Skeet range which sits a mere 800 yards
from the river itself.
Way
back in March of 2002, the "Carmans
River Environmental Assessment Report"
was prepared for Suffolk County by
Cashin Associates.
The report pointed out that the Carmans
River “is almost entirely fed by
groundwater from the uppermost of Long
Island’s aquifers”.
That very same report also examined the
Suffolk County Trap & Skeet Range and
pointed out that the range “sits
directly atop a sole source aquifer from
which Long Islanders draw their drinking
water and is part of the Carmans River
Watershed and Drainage Basin.”
Also in March of 2002, a report of the
Trap and Skeet Oversight Committee was
prepared for then Suffolk County Parks
Commissioner Peter A. Scully. That
report indicated that: “Lead
contaminated soil exists throughout a
major portion of the range. Lead levels
well above those acceptable for parkland
use were encountered to a depth of at
least 6” below grade.” This report
also stated that groundwater
samples taken in December of 2001
indicated lead levels as high as 20ppb,
which is significantly higher than the
New York State standard for drinking
water of 15 ppb.
Suffolk
County’s own documents, namely the
“Review of the 2007-2009 Proposed
Capital Program 2007 Capital Budget”,
(published in May 2006), as well as the
2006-2008 Proposed Capital Program 2006
Capital Budget, (published in May 2005),
refer to lead and other contaminates
that resulted from the use of the range
stating that “This material has been
determined to be hazardous waste and
poses a threat to the ground water."
Additionally, recent groundwater samples
taken between 2007 and 2008 in an area
downgrade of the range near the Carmans
River showed elevated levels of
arsenic (arsenic is used in the
manufacture of lead shot as a hardening
agent).
Richard Amper, the Executive Director of
the Pine Barrens Society referred to
initiatives with Citizens Campaign for
the Environment and others to protect
the river. Adrienne Esposito, the
Executive Director of the Citizens
Campaign for the Environment wrote a
letter on November 26th, 2008
to Peter Scully (presently the DEC
Regional Director) calling for the
Suffolk County Trap and Skeet Range to
be closed.
In her letter, Ms. Esposito wrote:
“The Trap and Skeet facility in
Southaven County Park has accumulated
high amounts of lead and other
contaminants from years of use”, and
that “Levels this high pose potential
threats to the environment and public
health.”
Ms. Esposito also wrote: “The soil
and water testing clearly indicates that
there is significant lead contamination
in the surrounding area…CCE would urge
the Pine Barrens Commission and the
Department of Environmental Conservation
to act swiftly to close the trap and
skeet facility in Southaven County Park
...”
Clearly, the presence of the Trap and
Skeet range constitutes a threat to the
environment as well as a threat to the
Carmans River itself. Suffolk County
owns and operates the range and is
directly responsible for its impact on
the environment. The County’s own
documents as well as findings published
by a variety of its own committees and
legislative bodies all refer to the
range as having a negative impact on the
environment and that cannot be ignored.
Whatever one's position is regarding the
need for this facility, the impact it
has on its immediate surroundings as
well as its impact on concerning the
Carmans River and its environs must be
considered. For Suffolk County to claim
that it is concerned with protecting the
river while ignoring its own role in
threatening it is alarming.
Residential
pollution sources in the area may very
well be part of the pollution problem
but cannot be more of a concern than
lead and arsenic.
The question is: "Which pollution
source would be most easily eliminated?"
Since entire communities cannot be moved
but the shooting range can be, the
answer to that question is obvious.
