Town Joins Suit To Take Down Poles

If you think East Hamptoners have come to grips with the oversized utility poles installed on Town Lane by PSEG in the past, think again. A move to force PSEG to bury the lines and remove the poles has been sparked, yet again. East Hampton Town has joined a legal suit to make it happen.

Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy hired Steve Mintz, founding partner of Mintz & Gold LLP, along with partner Peter Guirguis in 2017 to take legal action in what it termed “Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy’s David and Goliath fight against defendants, PSEG-LI and LIPA” with the goal of removing the 276 toxic poles along the 6.2-mile route from East Hampton to Amagansett, burying the high-tension lines, and remediating the soil around the poles.

Last week, Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy announced East Hampton is now officially seeking to join the fight as a plaintiff. The most recently-filed memo of late requests that the court grant class certification asserting a claim of fraud on behalf of the town, and violations by PSEG and LIPA of the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

“The poles are ladened with pentachlorophenol and have contaminated East Hampton’s air, soil, and groundwater, destroying the aesthetic beauty of its residential areas, devaluing its homes, and creating a situation that negatively effects the health of its residents and its environment,” according to Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy. Pentachlorophenol is an organochlorine compound used as a pesticide and disinfectant.

“We hope the town’s decision to join this fight will help convince PSEG-LI and LIPA to stop poisoning our land and water resources,” Helene Forst, of East Hampton, and chairwoman of Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy, said in a press release.

The Town Lane route may come into play if or when Eversource/Ørsted lands a cable carrying power for its South Fork Wind Farm onto land. If the landing occurs in Montauk, the cable may work its way to the Amagansett substation on Old Stone Highway and down Town Lane.

rmurphy@indyeastend.com