Suffolk County Exec. Steve Levy announced this week that he is proposing a comprehensive study to look into whether the incinerator at the Bergen Point Sewer Treatment Plant in West Babylon should be built, or whether alternative methods of disposal for the more than 8,000 tons of sludge generated there and hauled off island every year would be a better way to go.

"There have been many concerns raised by the public about a plan to rebuild the incinerator there and they have resonated (with me) to the point that I have called for a study to see if this is the best place to go, or if there are other alternatives out there we can pursue," said Levy.

The study will slow down a process that residents and local officials said was moving too quickly.

The County Executive's comments came after a week of public outcry as news circulated within Babylon Town that Levy's office was pursuing a plan to have a private company come in and build, operate and maintain an incinerator at Bergen Point. (See BabylonBeacon, Amityville Record, 5/17/06).

But Levy pointed out that the plan to rebuild an incinerator at Bergen Point was one with a long history that predated his taking office. Money for the project was in the capital budget of his predecessor, County Exec. Robert Gaffney, and had been moved forward when he took office. This year he said, he decided that if the county were going to build a plant there, that the county should look at the possibility of privatizing it as a way relieving the taxpayers of the risk and huge expense associated with the project.

"This project has been in the county budget for years and I am in no way tied to it," said Levy, taking a huge step back from the plan that had raised considerable controversy.

Incineration has benefits over long hauling. It is cheaper and removes the parade of trucks moving in and out of that facility and driving through local roads as it heads to landfills in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. But Levy said there are other options to be explored, such as pelletization, and that he wants the study to look at them all before the county makes any decision.

That came as good news to Babylon Village Mayor RalphScordino who said that it is vital for the county to get all of the facts together, including the history of the plant and its impact on the local communities, before proceeding with any changes at the treatment plant.

"This is absolutely the right way to go," said Scordino upon hearing of the County Executive's decision to stop any incineration proposal pending the outcome of the study. "I also believe that the county has an obligation to sit down with local officials and state lawmakers to get their input because they have dealt with these issues for years."

Scordino said that many people believed that once the county shut down those incinerators in 2002, it was moving permanently to alternative methods of disposal. "The fact that this proposal to build a new incinerator, county owned or private, came as a total surprise to us here locally should not have happened," he said. "We should all be at the table."

S.C. Leg. Wayne Horsley (D-Lindenhurst), in whose district the plant is located, said he was relieved that the County Executive had halted the plans for incineration and was revisiting the issue.

"It takes a big and bold leader to acknowledge when a mistake has been made and I look forward to working with the County Executive in looking at alternatives and completing this study."

Karen Watt, a resident who has taken the lead in fighting the incinerator said she and others will not rest until they are 100 percent sure the incineration plan is removed from the county agenda.

"We do not, now or anytime, want to entertain the throught of incinerating waste, whether the plant is town, county or privately owned," she said. "This proposal does not meet with our interpretation of the 6NYCRR211.2 specific air quality standards or our quality of life expectations here in Babylon. We will not compromise the health and safety of our families for anyone's political or financial gain."

The subject will be discussed at a public hearing on the County's Capital Budget, which initially included the incinerator plant, on Tuesday,June 13, 2:30 p.m. William Rogers Building,Hauppauge. Residents who have concerns, questions or would like to provide input should attend, said Horsley.