Legal woes mount for Scott’s Pointe as DEC issues tickets to operator for allegedly violating permit conditions

The State Department of Environmental Conservation issued tickets to the operator of Scott’s Pointe and the company’s president Eric Scott last week for “failing to follow the permitted mined land use plan,” RiverheadLOCAL has learned. 

The tickets were issued July 3, a week after the state agency issued a notice of violation to Island Water Park Corp., citing use of an inflatable aquapark and public recreation activities in the park’s groundwater-fed pond as out of compliance with the operator’s mined land permit. The DEC ordered the company it ordered the park to cease use of the aquapark and cease public recreation in the lake. The June 26 violation notice said an asphalt track and parking lot built by the operator violated the mined land permit as well.

Island Water Park Corp. faces civil penalties of $8,000 for each violation of its mined land use plan and $2,000 per day for each day the violation continues, according to the June 26 notice. The DEC charges will be administratively adjudicated by the state agency, a DEC spokesperson said.

Scott did not respond to a message requesting comment for this story. 

The DEC’s action last week came the same day the Town of Riverhead filed a lawsuit in Suffolk County Supreme Court seeking an order temporarily shutting down the park until the site comes into compliance with town code. The lawsuit from the town has nothing to do with placement or use of the aquapark in the pond. The violations outlined in the lawsuit, which were issued by town officials on June 3, involve the construction of the go-kart track and pickleball courts without permits and site plan approval, as well as converting storage space into a party room without approvals and failing to install a required emergency responder radio coverage system on the property, according to the complaint.

The town is also asking the court to order removal of the go-kart track and pickleball courts — restoring the property to “pre-violation status” — and to impose a financial penalty of at least $100,000 on the company.

MORE COVERAGE: Hubbard: Scott’s Pointe building race track without approvals was ‘brazen,’ increase in fines needed

RiverheadLOCAL and area residents who contacted the publication observed people using the aquapark between the June 26 and July 3. The aquapark also appeared to be staffed with lifeguards.

The inflatable aquapark at Scott’s Pointe sits on the northernmost part of the property’s 12.5-acre groundwater-fed pond. It is one of the premier attractions at Scott’s Pointe. A representative of the company told the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency at a Nov. 8, 2021 hearing that the aquapark would be “the largest in the world.” Island Water Park’s Ken Meyers said at the hearing that the facility would have indoor and outdoor recreation activities, would be open year-round, and was expected to attract an estimated 900,000 visitors per year. The RIDA that evening approved financial assistance for Island Water Park including a real property tax reductions for 10 years, and sales tax and mortgage recording tax exemptions.

Admission to the aquapark attraction costs $40 for one hour and $60 for two consecutive hours, according to the company’s website. The company’s web portal, for purchasing tickets and scheduling use times, remains operational.

The most recent amended site plan for Scott’s Pointe, which was approved by the Town Board in February 2022, does not depict the aquapark. The site plan approval contains a condition limiting use of the lake, stating: “The use of the on-site lake shall be restricted to the proposed rope-tow cable system, and non-motorized water sport use, including canoes, kayaks, rental sail boats, etc.” Another site plan condition states: “No additional structures or apparatus shall be constructed or placed in the lake without obtaining approval for an amended site plan from the Riverhead Town Board.”

Riverhead Senior Planner Greg Bergman, who handled the review of the amended site plan application for the town, said the aquapark is a non-motorized water sport use, more akin to an inflatable raft, and is allowed under the conditions of the town’s site plan approval.

Since the site’s pond is fed by groundwater and is located within the capture zone of a Riverhead Water District well field, the town required Island Water Park to construct two groundwater monitoring wells on the site and “enter into a Groundwater Monitoring Well Agreement” with the the Town of Riverhead and the Riverhead Water District, for a term of 20 years. The monitoring wells would serve as an early warning of contamination that might affect the town’s public water supply.

Kelly McClinchy of Manorville, a clean drinking water advocate and member of the citizen advisory board for the environmental remediation of the former Grumman site — on which Scott’s Pointe sits — raised the possibility that runoff from the racetrack could contaminate the lake and groundwater in the area.

“[T]he lake, as we know, is fed by the aquifer,” McClinchy said over Zoom at the June 16 Town Board meeting. “And along with the enjoyment and the privilege of operating such a business comes the responsibility to really be a good steward of the environment and just to be a decent neighbor, in the face of such a precious resource as our water,” she said.

McClinchy said she requested a copy of the groundwater monitoring agreement in February under the Freedom of Information Law, but as of June 16 had not received a copy of the agreement.

RiverheadLOCAL filed a Freedom of Information Law request for the document on June 21 and received a copy of the agreement from the Riverhead Water District on July 1. The document is undated and is signed at the bottom of the last page by Scott over a hand-drawn line with Scott’s name and the word “owner” hand-written underneath it. The stamp of a notary public appears beneath the signature. But the document does not bear the notary’s signed acknowledgement, which certifies that the signature belongs to the person named as a signatory of the document. It also does not bear the signature of any witness. In addition, the document is not signed by any town official. Typically, the Town Board by resolution authorizes the supervisor to sign a binding agreement.

When asked last week why the agreement was not executed by the town, Town Attorney Erik Howard said the town didn’t need to sign the document because “it’s not an agreement.” Howard said the document is a “representation” by Scott and is “enforceable because it’s notarized.”  

Island Water Park Corp. was also required under the 2022 declaration of covenants and restrictions to record the terms of the monitoring well agreement in the form of a covenant with the Suffolk County Clerk. There is no such covenant on record as of today, according to the clerk’s website.

Riverhead Water District Superintendent Frank Mancini said in an interview that he received the agreement from the town attorney’s office the day his office sent it in response to RiverheadLOCAL’s Freedom of Information Law request. He said it was the first time he saw the agreement in a long time. He had previously been asked by the deputy town attorney to comment on the draft agreement, which he said he did. But, he said, he never heard anything more about it.

The pond itself was originally planned and permitted in 2003 as a pair of bentonite clay-lined ponds, having a total area of 18.7 acres, to be filled with water purchased from the Riverhead Water District. Island Water Park Corp. at that time was proposing a recreational water ski club. The company obtained a mined land reclamation permit from the DEC, allowing it to excavate 227,693 cubic yards of sand and gravel to build the ponds. About 65% of the amount excavated was to remain on site, with about 35% to be removed from the site, according to the 2003 DEC permit.

While mining the area, the developer unexpectedly hit groundwater within the limits of its permitted excavation depth. The ponds were eventually reconfigured with the DEC’s approval and the total surface water area was reduced to 12.5 acres in a single ground-water fed pond. DEC issued a revised permit in 2012. No gas-powered water craft were to be used in the pond. Instead, an “electric cable tow system for water sports” was permitted. The new permit allowed the construction of two buildings, one 45,500 square feet and another 6,000 square feet, and 28,000 square feet of gravel parking area. Uses allowed at the site were a restaurant, a fitness center, warehouse and office spaces.

The DEC permit was renewed in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The 2021 permit expired in May 2023 and is pending renewal, which is currently in progress, according to the DEC. As such, the permit is still active and a surety bond in the original amount of $38,000 to secure compliance by the developer with the permit’s terms is still in place, according to the DEC.