An agreement to test groundwater contamination at the Scott’s Pointe site in Calverton was only recently signed by the city and park operator, despite the fact that it had to be signed before certificates of occupancy could be issued by the city, allowing the park to legally open.

The requirement to monitor wells on site and an agreement to test groundwater every two years for 20 years were included in the approval at the request of Riverhead Water District Superintendent Frank Mancini, who was concerned about potential groundwater contamination at the site; The water park, which includes a 12.5-acre groundwater-fed artificial pond, is located within the short-term catchment area of ​​a public water supply well.

Approval of the project’s site plan in February 2022 required that the monitoring well agreement be signed and a covenant setting forth its terms be recorded in the Suffolk County Clerk’s office before the city would issue a certificate occupancy for the installation.

But the agreement wasn’t signed and commitments weren’t recorded until the city issued three certificates of occupancy for the facility last fall, which allowed the park to legally open.

“I do not know who authorized the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, but it appears that it was issued without confirming that the agreement and the monitoring well provisions were in place,” the city attorney said , Erik Howard, in an email last week. “Regardless, this issue is being resolved, IWP (Island Water Park) staff are cooperating and I hope the (commitments) will be recorded soon.”

The city issued the CO for the park a few months after the operator, Island Water Park Corp, received a notice of violation from the Riverhead Town Fire Marshal in July 2023 for holding a gathering at the site, including a fireworks display, without the required CO or fireworks permit. The notice did not result in any subpoenas or monetary penalties, according to documents obtained by RiverheadLOCAL through a Freedom of Information Act request.

MORE COVERAGE: Social media posts showing CO-free Calverton Water Park parties lead to notice of violation

Since the park’s opening, several incidents that occurred or came to light at the Scott’s Pointe site raise concerns about potential groundwater contamination, including unauthorized dumping and use of solid waste during project development, construction of a go-kart racing track at the site and violations issued by the state Department of Environmental Conservation regarding use of the man-made pond for recreational purposes.

RiverheadLOCAL applied for the groundwater monitoring well agreement earlier this year and received a copy of an earlier, undated version of the agreement in July. It was signed by Island Water Park President Eric Scott, but not by any city officials.

Mancini said in an interview at the time that he had seen an unsigned draft agreement months before, but never heard of it until Manorville resident Kelly McClinchy and RiverheadLOCAL are submitting requests for copies of the document under the Freedom of Information Act. Mancini said he did not receive a copy of the version signed by Scott until the day his office responded to FOIL requests.

Mancini asked the Planning Department and City Council to require groundwater monitoring wells at the Island Water Park site before learning that, as first reported by RiverheadLOCAL last month, the Island Water Park had illegally accepted some 6,000 cubic yards of solid waste at the site in 2017, leading the state Department of Environmental Conservation to issue a notice of violation in May 2018.

MORE COVERAGE: Scott’s Pointe operator accepted solid waste during construction at site, state records show

Mancini said in an interview last month that he was grateful that the city required a groundwater monitoring well to be installed at the Island Water Park site. If a monitoring well didn’t already exist, the waste buried there would have justified installing one, he said.

The presence of waste on site increases his concerns about possible future contamination of the water district’s supply well, Mancini said last month. The DEC has documented materials dumped there, such as textiles, which typically contain PFAS, he said. PFAS is a contaminant subject to strict new federal and state limits for drinking water due to known health risks.

The groundwater monitoring requirement also came before Island Water Park built, without amended site plan approval or building permits, an asphalt go-kart track on land that juts into the man-made pond. Social media posts from the park operator and others included videos of gas-powered go-karts and motorized vehicles racing on the track. The addition has sparked concerns among residents and city officials about potential groundwater pollution from runoff or spills.

In early June, Riverhead Town issued an order prohibiting use of the track and also issued tickets for violations of town code. In August, Island Water Park pleaded guilty to the violations in Riverhead court and paid $5,700 in fines.

On July 3, the city filed an action with the state Supreme Court seeking an injunction against use of the site and an order requiring the removal of the go-kart track. He is also seeking a fine of at least $100,000. Island Water Park filed a response to the city’s complaint on Aug. 16, largely denying the city’s allegations. On September 11, an attorney for Island Water Park asked the court to schedule a pretrial conference in the lawsuit. The court file indicates nothing more.

Island Water Park filed an application with the city in July for approval of an amended site plan to legalize the illegal as-built structures, including the go-kart track. The file was deemed incomplete by town planners, who requested additional documents and information on August 2. Riverhead Senior Planner Greg Bergman said yesterday that Island Water Park had submitted additional documents and was reviewing them to ensure the application was complete. He will then draft a staff report to the city council, for discussion at a work session, he said.

The signed monitoring well agreement requires “baseline sampling within 60 days,” the city attorney said last week. The previous version did not have this requirement. Mancini said the city attorney’s office told him the water district would have to wait two years from the date the agreement was signed before the city could mandate sampling and testing. He preferred that baseline sampling and testing be done earlier, Mancini said.

The revised version of the agreement requires sampling and analysis of one groundwater monitoring well on site, instead of two monitoring wells required by the previous version of the agreement and as shown in the drawings of the site map.

Howard said the site plan approval resolution should not be changed because “it contemplates a monitoring well, agreement and commitments on that.”