No person or corporation may undertake aquaculture within the waterways of the Town of Brookhaven without first obtaining a wetlands and waterways permit from the Division of Environmental Protection under Chapter
81 of the Town Code of the Town of Brookhaven.
Sites that are selected for aquaculture shall be subject to
the following restrictions:
A. Have a permanent certification for shellfish harvesting as approved
by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC);
B. Shall not be within a sea grass bed;
C. Must be outside of any area within the Town of Brookhaven designated as a winter grounds or management areas as defined in §§
57-35 and
57-36;
D. Must be outside of the jurisdictional boundaries of the Fire Island
National Seashore, unless permission of the Department of the Interior
is secured;
E. If privately owned property, an executed lease agreement with the
private property owner of the underwater lands shall be provided;
F. Must be at least 375 feet seaward from any private property line
and limited to that area bounded by the seaward extension of the eastern
and western property lines extended southerly into the bay a distance
of 375 feet parallel to the mean high water mark of the southern property
boundary;
G. Must be at least 200 feet from any other shellfish farm license/lease
boundary; and
H. Must be 100 feet outside of any marked or unmarked navigation channel.
Permits shall be valid for five years from the date of issuance.
For Town-owned underwater lands, the applicant shall enter into
a license agreement with the Town of Brookhaven. Said agreement shall
define the duration of the license (up to 25 years) and the annual
licensing schedule of payments, as follows:
A. Initial five years, two acres or less: $104 per acre;
B. Initial five years, more than two acres: $174 per acre;
C. First renewal (years six to 10): $263 per acre;
D. Subsequent renewals (years 11 to 25): $527 per acre.
The corners of the lot must be obviously marked in a manner
that will advise boaters that the area contains a navigational hazard.
All buoys, floats, markers, etc., must be clearly marked with both
the NYS state on-off bottom culture permit's alphanumeric identifier
and the Town's wetlands and waterways permit number.
Every two years, from the date the permit is issued, the applicant
shall submit to the Division of Environmental Protection copies of
reports as required by the DEC regarding shellfish placed and harvested.
Aquaculture permits issued under Chapter
81 may be renewed every five years, subject to the regulations set forth in this chapter.