State Permit Bottlenecks Slow Brookhaven Projects

Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico says some of the town’s infrastructure projects are running into a familiar obstacle: the time it takes to secure required state environmental permits.

“We do not operate in a vacuum,” Panico said. “We make applications and we follow up, and it’s a long process.”

Panico pointed to several projects requiring approvals from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, including plans for dredging and a rock jetty at Sandspit in Blue Point.

“Getting DEC permits out of the state always had a certain amount of latency,” Panico said. “That process is not easy and has become even slower.”

The town is also moving ahead with bulkhead and drainage improvements at Davis Park, where Brookhaven’s capital plans call for replacing more than 300 feet of bulkheading to help protect the area during coastal storms.

The permitting issue can also reach routine highway and drainage work, Panico said.

“We fund a great deal of drainage projects for the highway superintendent and his department on behalf of Brookhaven’s residents, but a lot of times those involve permits, which are, in and of themselves, a laborious task,” he said.

Brookhaven maintains approximately 44,000 drainage structures throughout the town, according to the Highway Department. The town also operates under a DEC-issued stormwater permit governing municipal runoff and related environmental requirements.

Despite the delays, Panico said town departments continue working through the process rather than allowing projects to stall indefinitely.

“The highway superintendent and his staff work very hard and work cooperatively with the town board,” he said.

Brookhaven’s current capital program includes funding for stormwater engineering and Sandspit Marina dredging engineering, underscoring the amount of infrastructure work moving through the town pipeline.

For Panico, the frustration is not with environmental review itself, but with how long approvals can take before crews can get to work.