Public to weigh in on Plum Island

TROY GUSTAVSON FILE PHOTO

A public meeting on the proposed sale of Plum Island — the 840-acre island just east of Orient Point and longtime home to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center — and its facility in Orient Point will take place next Thursday, May 20, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Greenport School gymnasium.

Representatives from the U.S. General Service Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, which has owned the research facility since 2003, will present an environmental impact study assessing the comparative environmental impacts of both continued federal ownership and the open sale of the island. The meeting is meant to gather public commentary and to address issues outlined in the study. Another meeting will be scheduled later in the summer.

Federal officials say all persons and organizations are urged to participate next Thursday. Comments on the sale can also be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to: Phil Youngberg c/o John Dugan, GSA, 10 Causeway Street, Room 925, Boston, MA 02222; [email protected]; [email protected]; fax: 617-565-5720.

Comments should be received by the General Service Administration no later than Wednesday, June 2, officials said.

ERIN SCHULTZ