State Appeals Court Rules East Hampton Cannot Close Airport Without Lengthy Application Process

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A state appeals court has ruled that East Hampton Town may not close its airport — permanently or temporarily — without following a laborious, likely years-long federal application process.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that in a ruling released on Wednesday, March 27, a four-judge panel of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division ruled that a lower court judge had been right in finding that the town was not legally capable of closing the airport without following the guidelines of the federal Airport Noise and Capacity Act, or ANCA, which lays out a specific process that must be followed to close any public airport facility.

The latest ruling appears to effectively shelve the Town of East Hampton’s plans to impose limitations on flights at the airport by closing it down temporarily and reopening it as a private facility that can dictate flights as it sees fit.

Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez’s office issued a reaction to the ruling on Thursday afternoon, saying the Town Board will be meeting with its legal counsel about its options going forward.

“The Town of East Hampton is deeply disappointed in the outcome of the appeals,” the statement reads. “The town proceeded in good faith to find a solution to address the long-standing noise and environmental impacts from the airport on the town and its surrounding communities and remains committed to that goal, as the status quo is not acceptable.”

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The Southold Town Board voted 5-0 this past Tuesday to extend its widely-supported moratorium on Battery Energy Storage Systems, commonly known as BESS, for an additional year. Nicholas Grasso reports in THE SUFFOLK TIMES that the board previously approved a 12-month moratorium on BESS facilities last year, about eight months after Albany-based Key Capture Energy proposed building a 60-megawatt BESS facility on 27 acres along Oregon Road in Cut­ch­ogue. KCE’s proposal stirred controversy due to its location, potential environmental impacts and safety concerns, including local fire departments’ ability to effectively respond to emergencies at the facility.

BESS facilities store energy generated by renewable technologies, such as solar panels and wind turbines, for future consumption. The systems are currently not permitted under Southold Town code, but the technology could potentially become a key component of the region’s energy supply.

The Southold Town Board’s moratorium, which was set to expire April 11 and will now run through April 11, 2025, allowed for the creation of a seven-member BESS Task Force charged with researching the battery storage industry to identify key safety concerns and existing regulations. Task force member Michael Macco said the board can expect a report from the volunteer group “probably in the next 30 days.”