§ 78-9. Purpose.

The Town Board finds that it is the policy of the Town of Brookhaven to maintain and, through time, improve water quality in the Carmans River and its associated aquatic and wetland environments, and in groundwater beneath terrestrial environments situated in the watershed of the Carmans River, by reducing the concentration levels of various nitrogen compounds in surface and groundwater in accordance with the short- and long-term water quality goals established by the Town Board. To that end, the Town Board in 2013 adopted the Carmans River Conservation and Management Plan. Implementation of the Plan included setting forth discharge standards for existing and new intermediate flow sanitary systems and sewage treatment facilities within the one-hundred-year groundwater contributing area to the Carmans River at levels below current standards accepted by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. The stricter standard is being implemented in order to protect the ecological integrity of the Carmans River. The stricter standard is necessary because the standard in use by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services is generally intended to protect human health, but is not sufficient to protect ecological health and to avoid ecological impacts to the Carmans River.