Letters

Mining began at East Coast Mines in 1953. My father took over excavation in 1973. I took over operations in 2003.

Countless families have been supported by this mine over the last 70 years. These hard-working individuals have sat on your school boards, served in your local fire departments and coached our children’s teams. East Coast Mines has provided the materials necessary to pave our roads, pour our foundations and restore our beaches.

The Town of Southampton is proposing to close all mines in the town within one year. The current proposal purports to be about groundwater protection. The director of mineral resources for the State Department of Environmental Conservation, Catherine Dickert, has told the town that the “DEC has no data or studies to suggest that past and present sand and gravel mining at these six mines in Southampton have negatively affected the aquifer.”

The sole motivation is to increase the value of one man’s golf course and ultra-luxury subdivision. This proposal does nothing to protect our groundwater.

The fallacy that mining contributes to groundwater contamination was propagated by Fred Thiele at the behest of his benefactor Robert Rubin.

As a series of lawsuits failed to gain traction, another tactic was needed. An investigation into vegetative waste processing proved the next avenue of attack.

Five years of investigation and over 22 test wells did not yield any conclusive connection between the mulching activities at Sand Land and groundwater contamination.

Thiele simply pivoted and began to propagate the lie that mining was a threat to groundwater. “DEC does not have any studies or data, nor is it aware of any, that suggest that sand and gravel contributes to or causes the release of naturally occurring metals such as iron and manganese into the groundwater” — Karen Gomez, professional engineer for water and remediation, DEC.

Thiele pushed for legislation in Albany that would have closed all the mines on Long Island. The governor vetoed this bill. The governor commenced a three-year groundwater study around the mines on Long Island. The DEC is halfway through that study; initial results do not detect any risks to groundwater.

Fearing that this study will debunk their myth, Rubin has tasked this board with making an end run around the expected results.

For the past 20 years, I have been content fighting the battle with Rubin in court. The collateral damage from the current proposal is too great. The cost of asphalt, concrete and drainage structures will go through the roof.

I will no longer stand by. Too many men and women have gotten up too early and worked too hard for me to allow this corruption to destroy an industry and our local economy.

John Tintle

East Hampton Village

Tintle is owner and president of East Coast Mines & Materials — Ed.