At a press conference outside Riverhead Town Hall, he also announced his group's outright opposition to the 750-acre, multi-themed resorts project Riverhead Resorts plans for the former Grumman site.

The announcement was significant because up until now, Mr. Amper, an influential advocate for the environment, had refrained from speaking out against the project -- as those in other environmental groups have done.

"We had hoped to await an objective environmental review before taking a position on this mega-project," Mr. Amper said, "but a series of anti-environment initiatives by the town has caused us to lose faith in ever getting a fair and objective environmental review, so we are reluctantly forced to move immediately and aggressively to block the project."

As for the town's stewardship of EPCAL, he said, "It is clear that the town, which owns the land and stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars in development there, cannot conduct an objective environmental review as required by law.

"It's a colossal conflict of interest," he said.

Mr. Amper pointed to recent lawsuits over control of the review process that the town had filed against the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Pine Barrens Commission, the government body that oversees development in the Pine Barrens. The suit against the Pine Barrens Commission, which had asserted jurisdiction over environmental reviews at the EPCAL complex, was ruled in favor of the town, but Mr. Amper said he plans to appeal the decision.

Riverhead Supervisor Phil Cardinale, who characterized the press conference as having "emanated far more heat than light," said Mr. Amper was overstating to the media the power of lead agency status.

"The process does not work that way," Mr. Cardinale said. "We don't want to control the process. We don't want to call the shots. Even if we did, the State Environmental Quality Review Act does not permit that.

"The press conference was grounded in a feigned -- because he knows better -- misunderstanding of the SEQRA process," Mr. Cardinale said.

The project, he said, would require at least 18 permits from agencies including the DEC, the state Department of Transportation and the county heath department to clear the environmental hurdles and break ground. Those agencies would have to reach their own conclusions as to the impacts of the project and whether to grant permits, Mr. Cardinale explained.

He also said the engineering firm the town would employ to conduct a review would not risk its professional reputation and license by following the preferences of the Riverhead Town Board.

On the lawsuits, Mr. Cardinale said they were part of "establishing the ground rules" before proceeding with the development project. "That is part of our obligation to the people of the town, and to the applicants," he said. "We have to know what the ground rules are, so we don't make them up along the way. And we're seeking guidance from the court."

He said Mr. Amper wants the Pine Barren Commission to be lead agency, "but they can't because they're not an involved agency under the law. It's a pipe dream, but we invite the Pine Barrens Society, and everyone else who has an interest, to participate in the process."

"Frankly, [Mr. Amper's] position is foolhardy and offensive to suggest the Town Board is unfit to serve as lead agency because it would sell out its own citizens, the individuals most affected by this project," Mr. Cardinale said.

"The process does not allow us to do it, because we don't control key permits," he continued. "But even if it did, I would be offended, because our obligation is to the public. We're not making a personal profit here."

"Then why are they suing for lead agency status?" Mr. Amper later scoffed.

In a conference call to The News-Review Tuesday, state Sen. Ken LaValle joined Mr. Amper in opposing lead agency status for Riverhead in the review process. He said the town would be in over its head on a project of Riverhead Resorts' magnitude.

"The town has to come to grips with this," Mr. LaValle said. "Local control is one thing, but being able to put together in the year 2008 the kinds of things that are necessary to bring a project to finality is just well beyond their capability of doing as a town. Even Brookhaven, with much greater resources, would have difficulty doing this."

No matter who oversees the process, insisted a lawyer for Riverhead Resorts, the developer's work won't be affected. "It's not 'Do you build?' It's 'How do you build?' Whether it's the town or the DEC, we're in the same position," said Don Secunda. "We're not involved in this fight."

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