There’s not much to celebrate in the Council on Environmental Quality‘s 40th annual report on the Connecticut environment. Aside from a few small improvements, the overall state of things is status quo at best punctuated by backsliding in key areas. The Council acknowledged in its opening that: “Connecticut’s environment is resistant to improvement,” laying the
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CEQ recommendations for legislation as of January 2013 include maintaining the foundation on which Connecticut’s environmental progress is built, including strengthening the state’s Clean Water Fund — the foundation of progress toward sewage-free rivers and a Long Island Sound that sustains valuable marine life. Click on this environmental headline for more on this story!
The Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality wants the public’s help in coming up with recommendations for new environmental legislation to be addressed in the next session of the General Assembly. The council is holding a forum on Nov. 28 at the Legislative Office Building. Written submissions will also be accepted. See the CT Environmental Headlines
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The Chair of the state’s Council on Environmental Quality has issued a statement commending the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for taking steps to reduce air pollution from the Hartford power plant known as the South Meadow “jets.”
The South Meadow plant has eight aging jet turbine engines that burn jet fuel to generate electricity on days of high electricity demand.
Extended power outages linked to residents’ embrace of ‘wildland-urban interface’ Connecticut’s unique residential development patterns made the state more vulnerable to extended power outages and other impacts from Tropical Storm Irene and the October snowstorm. That was one of the findings in the state Council on Environmental Quality annual report on the condition of Connecticut’s
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Connecticut residents who are concerned about conservation have reason to be optimistic this week.
Governor Malloy signed a new law on Friday — Public Act No. 12-152, An Act Concerning the State’s Open Space Plan — that requires Connecticut to devise a formal strategy for protecting open space, and to update it every five years. That’s good news because Connecticut’s official goal is to protect 21 percent of the land in the state, and it’s obviously easier to reach a goal if you have a plan for getting there.
The October snowstorm resulted in “atrocious” air quality, apparently because of emissions from generators, wood stoves and fireplaces, according to the Council on Environmental Quality’s annual report delivered to the governor Thursday.
“Northern Connecticut probably saw particle levels over twice the standard that protects human health,” the report says. Click on this environmental headline for more on this story.
CEQ has released its recommendations for legislation, highlighting the need to step up land conservation, both in the amount of land preserved and in the state’s strategy for selecting land for preservation. Ideas for “no-cost” preservation are included. The recommendations also call for more training for members of municipal inlands wetlands agencies, for continued funding of the state Clean Water Fund, and for a financial analysis of how much money will be needed to control pollution from runoff in developed areas of the state. For more about the recommendations and links to all the details, click on this environmental headline. Don’t forget … you can click on the donate button over there on the right hand side to support this website :o) Thanks!
A note from Marty Mador, of the Sierra Club about the effort during the 2011 legislative session to save the Council on Environmental Quality. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy does not like the watchdogs, and repeatedly tried to zero out CEQs funding. Many legislators promised to support CEQ, and full funding (less than $200,000 for 2
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Testifying before the General Assembly’s environment committee, Council on Environmental Quality Executive Director Karl Wagener said a “moratorium” should be enacted until the state Department of Environmental Protection issues updated regulations.
Connecticut’s environmental watchdog panel says the state does not know how much open space or wildlife habitat it has and is relying on outdated data to make critical decisions about preservation or development. Christine Woodside reports for the The Connecticut Mirror.
