Commercial mining activities.

Commercial mining activities. Mattituck Inlet has been the site of

considerable commercial mining. Mining of the Federal navigation channel,

under Federal permit, and mining of the beach directly west of the west jetty

under local permit, removed a large volume of sediment from this system from

1920 to 1977. These activities, and their possible implications on sediment

transport at Mattituck Inlet are discussed here.

In the course of the present study, the archive of New York District dredging

permits was accessed to investigate permitted commercial dredging for gravel

and sand within the limits of the Federal navigation project (Table 2-7). The

New York District could only issue permits for dredging within the Federal

navigation project, because adjacent submerged land falls under jurisdiction of

the State of New York, a point repeatedly raised in local agency review of the

permit requests. Permit applications and associated documentation of New York

District actions were found for the interval 1925 to 1948 and primarily concerned

shoaling areas adjacent to the west jetty. During this interval, the Federal

navigation channel was configured such that it abutted the west bank of

Mattituck Inlet at the base of the west jetty (see Figure 4-27).

Federal permits allowed dredging to depths ranging from 7 to 20 ft mlw.

Most of the permit applicants did not complete planned work, as indicated by

requests for extensions or renewals, or by comments from New York District

inspectors. Therefore, it is uncertain how much dredging occurred for

commercial use, although it is expected to have been intermittent, but substantial

at times.

The functional duration of commercial mining activities is not known, and

the Federal permits provide no information on the volumes dredged. However,

because of the asphalt-handling infrastructure that was present near the inlet,

there is evidence of a robust mining industry at Mattituck Inlet for a long span of

time. Ralston (1928) states that the sand and gravel industry at Mattituck Inlet

could dredge "50 cu yd, daily, of sand and gravel from between the jetties at the

entrance to the harbor, under permit from the War Department, and its

transportation to the south end of the harbor for manufacture into concrete tile."

Three permits were issued prior to the Ralston (1928) report. Two of these

(J.H. Rambo, and Northport Sand and Gravel) apparently indicate offsite disposal

of the dredged material, and the third (C. H. Benjamin) indicates disposal on the

Wickert estate, located adjacent to the area of mining. It is, therefore, apparent

that the activities referred to by Ralston (1928), which note "transportation to the

south end of the harbor," are different than those referred to in the Federal

dredging permits.

The existence of a robust mining industry at Mattituck Inlet is further

evidenced in New York District condition surveys, which document physical

plants of sand and gravel companies. The condition survey map dated 20 May

1965 notes the existence of an abandoned "Sand Plant" on the west bank of

Mattituck Creek. The condition survey map dated 20 May 1965 notes the

physical plants of Asphalts, Inc. and the Gotham Sand and Gravel Company,

both near the area of mining. The condition survey map dated 27 July 1971

notes the physical plant of the New Sand and Gravel Company near this same

location. The locations of the physical plants are shown in Figure 4-30.

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Chapter 4 Morphology Change, and Channel Shoaling and Migration