Brookhaven Community Coalition

CCE is a member of the Brookhaven Community Coalition (BCC), an alliance of community members, organizations, and stakeholder groups that works to address a wide range of issues relating to public health, safety, and quality of life in the Town of Brookhaven, in Long Island, NY. BCC was formed originally in March 2011 as Stop the Sludge (STS) - a coalition created to stop a bio-solid wastewater sludge from being further disposed of at the Brookhaven Town Landfill in Yaphank, NY. Odors from the sludge disposal seriously degraded the quality of life and threatened public health in the community. After numerous letters and phone calls to local and state elected officials and agencies, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) terminated the town’s sludge permits. Since this victory, STS expanded the scope of our mission and became Brookhaven Community Coalition (BCC) in order to address public health and quality of life concerns in the community. BCC gives these people a voice - a direct line to hold their representatives accountable for the sake of air quality, drinking water quality, and public health and safety.

If You Smell Something, Say Something!

Help the BCC document odors and dust occurrences in the community by logging them here.

Cablevision Editorial Reply - Broookhaven's Landfill, presented by Adrienne Esposito, CCE Executive Director

Image of the Brookhaven Community Coalition's June 2, 2011, meeting.

Members of the Brookhaven Community at the June 2 public forum.

On June 2, 2011, the Brookhaven Community Coalition and Citizens Campaign for the Environment held our first Brookhaven Community Forum. Over 350 members of the public were in attendance and approximately forty questions were posed to the nine local and state elected and agency officials on the panel. Many of the questions related to the Town of Brookhaven Landfill, L.I. Compost/Great Gardens, the recent Horseblock Road Investigation involving radioactive surface water and soil contamination, and other composting sites in the affected communities. Watch the full video of this community forum.

At the meeting, government agencies and elected officials vowed to step forward and open transparent lines of communication with the community in order to address their concerns. The issues discussed were problems that many community members had faced for years but for which they were unable to find the proper outlet for discussion. BCC gives these people a voice - a direct line to hold their representatives accountable for the sake of air quality, drinking water quality, and public health and safety.

Victory!
On October 26, 2011, CCE and the Brookhaven Community Coalition (BCC) celebrated a landmark victory after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) announced that it has issued a modification to Long Island Compost’s permit. After a thorough and thoughtful permit review, the DEC is revoking the variance given to Long Island Compost / Great Gardens to operate an open air compost facility in Yaphank. For too long, nearby residents have suffered from strong odors and particulate matter emanating from Long Island Compost and the nearby Brookhaven Town Landfill. The enclosure of Long Island Compost is an enormous leap forward in giving the people of Brookhaven back what they deserve: the right to breathe clean air, watch their children play outdoors, and have a quality of life comparable to those in other areas of Long Island.

For more information, resources, and documents, please visit the BCC website.

Executive Board

Robert Deshler
Adrienne Esposito
Kathleen Scheibel
Martin VanLith
Michael Verni
Sharon Wiesmann
Wayne Losee

Watch this Youtube video on Long Island Compost, posted by a community member:

Updated by tbono 3/8/12

Brookhaven Community Coalition Partners

Executive Board