A renewed push by Suffolk County to acquire Plum Island from the federal government raises questions about what role Southold Town will play in determining the island’s future.

Southold Town has zoning authority over the 822-acre island, which sits about a mile east of Orient, and expects to be involved in decisions about its future use, Supervisor Al Krupski said following a recent tour of the federally owned property.

“If a government entity is willing to take it over and assume the management of it, the town needs to be a partner there on the usage of it,” Mr. Krupski told The Suffolk Times.

County Executive Ed Romaine announced last week that Suffolk is exploring a possible takeover of Plum Island and seeking state support for a study of how the island could be publicly owned and operated after the federal government ends its animal disease research mission there.

“Plum Island is one of the most extraordinary natural and historic treasures in the United States,” Mr. Romaine said in a statement. “Our goal is to ensure Plum Island remains protected forever.”

Mr. Krupski said Southold would be willing to work with the county or another public owner, but cautioned that acquiring Plum Island would bring substantial responsibilities involving security, transportation, deteriorating military structures and the laboratory complex.

“There are a lot of logistical questions that have to be answered if someone’s going to step forward and manage that island,” he said.

Mr. Krupski toured Plum Island with representatives from Mr. Romaine’s office, Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office and the office of a Connecticut senator, along with other local officials, earlier this month.

The visit included a briefing on the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, which remains in operation as the federal government transfers its research mission to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kan.

The federal laboratory remains “a world-class facility” that has been meticulously maintained, Mr. Krupski said. By contrast, Fort Terry’s century-old concrete batteries, ammunition bunkers and other military structures have fallen into severe disrepair and may be unsafe to enter.

“The fort site is still physically intact, but you wouldn’t walk in there because it would be dangerous,” he said.

Regular access to Plum Island is through a federal ferry operation from Orient, and any future owner would have to maintain the vessels, docks, navigational channels and other infrastructure now supported by the federal government.

“Who’s going to maintain the ferry fleet and maintain the dock space and maintain the navigational channels?” Mr. Krupski said.

It also remains uncertain whether enough visitors would travel to Plum Island to make public ferry service financially viable, the supervisor added.

The county proposal is the latest development in a preservation campaign that began after Congress directed the federal government in 2008 to sell Plum Island to help finance the replacement laboratory in Kansas.

The federal sale directive stunned many North Fork residents, Mr. Krupski said, because the animal disease center had long been considered a permanent local institution and an important part of the nation’s food-security system.

“We always imagined that facility would always be there,” he said. “We need animal disease research because it’s a matter of food security for our country.”

He also questioned the decision to relocate research involving contagious livestock diseases from an isolated island to what he described as “cattle country.”

The federal government originally anticipated closing the Plum Island laboratory in 2013. With the possibility of a private sale looming, Southold adopted zoning for the island in 2012.

Because Plum Island had been owned by the federal government or the military for roughly a century, it previously had no underlying town zoning, Mr. Krupski said.

The town’s regulations permit research uses, limited residential development connected to those uses and renewable-energy production while protecting much of the island from intensive development.

Local officials and preservation advocates subsequently floated a range of possible futures, including designation as a national park, national monument or wildlife preserve.

The transfer process is expected to begin after the Department of Homeland Security declares Plum Island excess property. Other federal agencies would then have an opportunity to seek ownership before the General Services Administration could declare it surplus and consider a transfer to state or local government.

County officials expect the property could be declared surplus early next year if no other federal agency seeks it. Suffolk could then formally pursue a public-benefit conveyance, potentially at no acquisition cost, although the county would still face the expense of developing and operating the island.

The county is seeking state funding for a comprehensive business and operations plan that would examine security, infrastructure, conservation, scientific research and public access. No estimate has been released for the cost of preparing the plan.

“Time is of the essence,” Mr. Romaine said. “The federal disposition process is expected to begin later this year and Suffolk County must be prepared with a credible and comprehensive plan.”

The Preserve Plum Island Coalition said no federal agency is currently known to be seeking the property. The coalition supports Suffolk County’s plan and has called for preservation, research, education and carefully managed public access. 

Mr. Krupski said Suffolk County has greater resources than Southold Town to assume management of the island, but the town would remain involved because Plum Island lies within its jurisdiction.

Southold’s role could include reviewing future land uses and helping determine the balance among research, conservation, historic preservation and public access.

Mr. Krupski cautioned that it could be years before ownership changes or the public is allowed to visit the island.

“Many things still have to be worked out,” he said.

He said any eventual proposal would undergo a public review similar to the process that produced the town’s Plum Island zoning.

“Just like when we did the zoning on it starting in 2008, it will be a very public process,” Mr. Krupski said. “We want the public to weigh in on the future fate of the island.”

The post Suffolk’s Plum Island acquisition push raises questions about Southold’s role appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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