Bellone Announces 20 New Homeowners Chosen for Phase 2 of Septic Pilot Program

MONTAUK, NY — A Montauk homeowner is one of the lottery owners announced for the second phase of Suffolk County's septic demonstration pilot program.

As part of the second phase, 20 additional single family homeowners were selected at random to receive a free advanced water treatment system.

Montauk's winner is Lee White.

The program is part of Suffolk County’s Reclaim Our Water initiative, a comprehensive plan to improve the region’s water quality by reducing nitrogen pollution through the implementation of advanced on-site wastewater treatment systems and means of sewering in targeted areas, a release said.

“Suffolk County has continued to make significant strides in improving the quality of our water, which is essential to our economy, health, environment and overall quality of life,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “The first phase of the septic demonstration program has been extremely successful as we received tremendous feedback from our residents who are currently participating in the program and from industry experts. And we anticipate the second phase of the program will be just as successful. I would like to thank the hundreds of homeowners who applied to be part of this program as we look forward to working with the winners to make this initiative a success for our entire region.”

Since the launch of the program in 2014, more than 330 Suffolk County homeowners have entered the two lotteries and 39 homeowners have or will receive a free system – which includes free installation, monitoring and maintenance for five years.

The lottery was conducted on Tuesday by members of the Suffolk County Legislature at the William H. Rogers Building in Hauppauge. The 20 winners are represented in all 10 towns throughout the county. In addition, eight alternate homeowners were selected. The complete list of winners is as follows:

• Andrew C Weaver, Miller Place

• Ann Combes Baller & Arthur Baller, West Gilgo Beach

• Donna Ursprung, Jamesport

• Glen Tannenbaum, Hauppauge

• Joseph & Helga Verdicchio, Deer Park

• Lauren Sabatini-Cabrera, East Northport

• Lydia Von Barta, Huntington Bay

• Cynthia Carippa, Wheatley Heights

• Julie & Charles Nace, Huntington Station

• Karen Deleski, Sag Harbor

• Michael Knipper, St. James

• Montegomery Granger & Sandra Spears, Port Jefferson

• Nicholas Morehead, Shelter Island

• Raymond Sajeski, Oakdale

• Richard Causin, Oakdale

• Robert Vanderhover, Sound Beach

• Robert Ryan, Nesconset

• Sherryl Jones, Mattituck

• Timothy & Jennifer Young, Bayport

The 20 systems are expected to be installed in homes by the end of this winter. County officials anticipate that systems could be eligible for provisional approval for use as early as September 2017.

The second phase systems were donated to the county by six manufacturers from the United States and Canada, all of whom have extensive experience across the country in removing excess nitrogen from residential and commercial properties, and consist of eight different technologies, Bellone said.

Each advanced wastewater treatment systems is valued up to $20,000.

The second phase of the Suffolk County Septic Demonstration Pilot Program will incorporate two types of systems that are designed to reduce total nitrogen in septic system effluent to 19 mg/l or less.

The majority of the systems that are currently part of the pilot program were observed by county experts on a tour of septic programs conducted in states throughout the northeast. Suffolk County is modeling its homeowner education program on a successful program that has been established in Rhode Island over the past 15 years.