The Commander Oil case is over. "It's all settled. It never went to the Supreme Court, but was settled instead," said a town spokesperson.

In the decision the town repays Commander court fees and promises to not interfere with the Army Corps of Engineers permit for the dredging. For its part, Commander agrees not to dredge until after Sept. 30, 2003.

Harold Shapiro, president of Commander Oil Corporation said of the decision, "It's over. It's behind us." Of the permit process and possible dredging he said, "We no longer own the property so it will be up to the new owners."

Lori Horowitz, COO of Island Properties, the new owners of the Commander Oil property said, "We have no intention of dredging. We are looking into what will be the best ultimate use of the property."

When asked if the best use of the property is as an oil terminal, would they dredge, she said, she didn't think they actually needed to dredge. She said anything can be a possibility, but added, "It's not our intention to do so."

One thing she was sure of, if it does need a cleanup (for development purposes): "Everyone can rest assured that we would take care of the cleanup properly," she said.

When asked who would pay, she said "Everything is in the contract. Everything is negotiated and everything is confidential."

The Commander property is expected to need an environmental cleanup if it is used for other purposes.

The settlement is the result of the reversal by the Court of Appeals, of a decision and order in favor of the town in the matter of Town of Oyster Bay v. Commander Oil Corporations, d/b/a Commander Terminals and "John Joe Dredging Co."

Town Attorney Gregory J. Giammalvo advised the board that under the terms of the settlement, the town acknowledges the right of Commander Oil to dredge in its West basin and agrees not to oppose an application filed by Commander Oil, now pending before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with respect to its East basin. Commander Oil Corporation agrees not to dredge its East basin until after Sept. 30, 2003.

US ACE Project Manager Mark Roth, who is in charge of permits for this area said the Commander Oil case was left as an open file. He explained its status as, "We are not actively working on it. The applicant hasn't pursued it to its completion because of the lawsuit.

"I think they approached us through a consultant later to make another run at the permit. The problem is the test data generated went beyond a certain age. They probably have to redo it," he said.

"When we tried to close it we couldn't because of the law suit even though the suit was not germane to the regulatory process. It has to do with property rights. While we acknowledge that there were property disputes we are not allowed to factor that into our permit decision.

"Currently, it's not being actively pursued by both Commander and the ACE," he said.

Mr. Roth said the request to dredge the East basin was being asked for navigational safety. He added that another problem with the dredging is that people thought there was more clay on the inland side of the basin than Commander reported.

"There is more chance of chemical adherence of anything on clay. Clay is a mineral that has an electrical affinity to other things. In other words pollution in the area would remain on the clay. That was a reason for reluctance to see that side dredged," he said.

The town resolution concluded: "In addition, under the terms of the settlement, the town agrees to pay Commander Oil Corporation $8,300 reimbursement of a $3,443.78 judgment previously paid to the town by Commander Oil Corporation in this matter, plus at 9 percent per annum from Nov. 13, 2000, $3,818.01 for costs on appeal incurred by Commander Oil Corporation and $500 statutory costs."

Bill Fonda, a DEC spokesperson said the Commander Oil site has groundwater as well as soil contamination at its site. "A few months ago a consultant was hired by the company to determine the extent of the contamination. The company has a pump system for the contaminated water. It is being treated and the treated water is being pumped into Oyster Bay.

"The DEC would like the consultant to develop a way to treat the contamination and that may involve modifying the current treatment system that they have.

"We have to see where the fuel oil contamination is and what sort of plan they have to deal with that contamination," he said.

Mr. Fonda explained that the fuel oil contamination of the soil seeps down into the groundwater. At a site like this where the soil wasn't dealt with, it becomes groundwater contamination. They would like the consultant's plan to arrive as soon as possible, but there is no deadline set.

"We want to have spills cleaned up as soon as possible. That is always best for the environment and best for the company. As those things seep further down, they become more expensive to clean up," he said.

As he explained, they are currently pumping up the groundwater and treating it and then sending the treated water into Oyster Bay, he said.