Flint Park Fines Loom for Larchmont

HomeLarchmontFlint Park Fines Loom for Larchmont Flint Park Fines Loom for Larchmont NY DEC is Not Amused By Loop Staff - October 26, 2026 87 0 By Tom Murphy and Lou Young With heavy equipment idle and the field upgrades at Flint Park paused, the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation has called for a “compliance meeting” with the Village of Larchmont complete with potential fines of up to $37,500 a day. In August, the State DEC halted the renovation project at Flint Park fields A & B over contaminated soil that had been unearthed during the work.  At the time, the Village said it was surprised by the “historic discovery” over material from a long-capped landfill. Douglas Upright, a Regional Materials Management Engineer for the DEC commented in an internal DEC memo that the area in question “has been listed in the Inactive Landfill Initiative priority list.”  He goes on to say that “even if the Village was unaware of the solid waste….at the property, it would have been the appropriate time to notify the Department when the waste was encountered.”  That wasn’t done. The DEC has twice characterized the Village’s actions involving the site as inadequate.  On Oct 1 Upright wrote that “Without a more thorough understanding of the extent and types of wastes disposed of throughout the property and what protections will be needed to be protective of public and environmental health moving forward, the project will not be able to proceed….” Some of the initial work at Flint Park Fields A & B, a capped landfill By October 19 the DEC was at least satisfied that the site had been secured. “It appears that temporary stabilization measures have been put in place,” he wrote.  But cautioned, “please be reminded that these measures will require ongoing maintenance.” The Village is anxious to restart the project, which was supposed to have been completed in time for the Fall soccer season, but that will have to wait until Village Administrator Alone Katzin and his staff can sit down with state regulators.  The DEC wants Larchmont to submit registration applications and a landfill reclamation work plan. “This has not been completed,” Doug Upright said.  He ended with the big news: “This matter has been referred to our Office of General Counsel for appropriate enforcement action, and a compliance conference will be scheduled in the near future.” While fines are a real possibility, the DEC usually uses the threat of them to force compliance.  The work at Flint Park had been funded by donations to the Flint Park Conservancy.  It remains to be seen how much the taxpayers will be on the hook for any additional work and when the fields will be back in service.         Author Loop Staff Members of theLoop staff contributed to this report.