Zoning showdown: SCWA claims immunity as North Fork pipeline review advances
The Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) has declared its 12-mile North Fork Water Main Project exempt from local zoning and land-use review, setting up a direct conflict with the Town of Riverhead, N.Y., as the authority moves into a full environmental impact study for the pipeline.
In a Nov. 20 resolution, SCWA applied New York State’s Monroe “balancing of public interests” test and ruled that the regional water project is immune from municipal permitting, according to a report by Riverhead Local. Riverhead, however, reached the opposite conclusion in October, asserting that SCWA must comply with town zoning for the 8-plus-mile portion of the pipeline that crosses its jurisdiction. Town officials argue the project brings construction impacts—traffic, farmland disruption, and tourism concerns—without delivering water service to Riverhead residents.
The first phase of the project would install a 24-inch main from Flanders through Riverhead to the Southold line, along with a new booster station, Riverhead Local reported. SCWA simultaneously released the Final Scope for its Draft Environmental Impact Statement, outlining required analysis of traffic impacts, construction methods, farmland access, waterway crossings, and alternative routes.
While SCWA prepares its draft EIS—expected as soon as late January—Riverhead is exploring legal options and will retain its ability to submit technical comments, challenge findings, and press state regulators on permits. Southold Town, meanwhile, plans its own Monroe determination for the project’s second phase.
The zoning dispute leaves the two parties at a standoff as environmental review progresses.
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