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AVON — The Inland Wetlands Commission March 2 voted to endorse having a “wild and scenic designation” for the section of the Farmington River that flows through Avon, and is recommending that the Town Council do so as well. The Planning and Zoning Commission already sent a letter of endorsement to the council last month. via Avon Inland Wetlands votes for ‘wild & scenic’ river designation | The Avon News. As part of a newly launched, ongoing study of Connecticut River water quality conditions, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Connecticut Water Science Center has installed monitoring equipment at the Connecticut River Museum’s main dock. The monitors will record water temperature and salinity factors which will aid in the evaluation of the timing, distribution, and duration of salt water mixing events in the lower Connecticut River. via Connecticut River Museum Is Partner Site For USGS Water Monitoring Study – Courant.com. Wild and scenic designation for the lower Farmington River may move one more step toward completion Tuesday night as the town’s inland wetlands commission votes on the issue. The commission meeting Tuesday will begin at 7 p.m. at Avon Town Hall. via Wetlands Panel May Vote On Designation For River – Courant.com. The Salmon River Watershed Partnership invites you to join one in a series of public open houses taking place in the coming days. Hear and discuss findings and recommendations from the nine-town Municipal Land Use Evaluation with town staff, community and commission members, and The Nature Conservancy. Pizza will be served. Tonight (Thurs., February 25 at 7pm), Hebron Senior Center, 14 Stonecroft Dr. Tues., March 2 at 6:30pm, East Hampton Town Hall, 20 East High St. Tues., March 9 at 7pm, Colchester Town Hall, 127 Norwich Ave. For more information contact Shelley Green at 203.568.6288 or sgreen@tnc.org. In 2007 the Salmon River Watershed Partnership formed among the towns of Colchester, East Hampton, Hebron, Marlborough, Bolton, Columbia, East Haddam, Glastonbury, and Lebanon. Working with stakeholders, the Partnership developed and is carrying out a regional action plan to collaborative conserve the Salmon River system and to support the long term social and economic vitality of the communities in the watershed. Many of the water companies concerned by the regulation are not short of water, but short of customers. Declining sales have made it difficult to generate revenues, but many of the utilities suffering from this have water to spare. via LETTER: Water policy must put health first – The New Haven Register. The Farmington River is a wonderful resource. It has improved dramatically over the last 30 years. Mother Nature plays a big role in these things but this progress didn’t happen entirely by accident. Many people have dedicated themselves to the steady improvement of the river. Those of us who fish the Farmington River today, reap the benefit of all those years of hard work and dedication. The least we can do is take a few minutes to complete this survey to keep the fishery moving in the right direction. via 2010 Angler’s Survey for Farmington River Management. The DEP says that the more people who fill out this survey, the better. So tell your fellow organizational members.Assuring there is enough water for drinking, recreation, sanitation and public safety is the common goal. The DEP needs to find a better way to reach it. via EDITORIAL: DEP should rethink stream flow rules – The New Haven Register. The Farmington River Watershed Association is holding an indoor country fair fundraiser February 21 from 3-7 p.m. at the Old Well Tavern in Simsbury Check out the Web site for details – www.frwa.org. via Feb 21, 2010 – FRWA Event at the Old Well Tavern in Simsbury « Connecticut Mountain Lion. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has taken the rare step of reaching across state lines into Vermont in order to protect Long Island Sound – hundreds of miles downstream. The EPA has formally objected to permits proposed for two Vermont sewage treatment plants. The agency says the Vermont plants would let too much pollution flow down the Connecticut River to the Sound. via Vermont Public Radio reports: EPA Objects To Vermont Sewage Treatment Permits. Clean water advocates urge U.S. Representatives to protect all waterways in Connecticut  An inlet on Long Island Sound (file photo) WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Streams and wetlands in Connecticut are at risk of unlimited pollution, according to the report “Courting Disaster: How the Supreme Court has broken the Clean Water Act and why Congress must fix it,” re-released today by Environment Connecticut, Rivers Alliance of Connecticut and Save the Sound, a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment. The report, which was released last April, provides more than thirty case studies demonstrating how the federal Clean Water Act has been weakened by Bush-era Supreme Court rulings, including a case involving wetlands neighboring the Farmington River. Environment Connecticut is calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to restore the Act to its intended purpose and ensure that all waterways are protected from unrestricted contamination. Continue reading Connecticut’s waterways at risk of increased pollution The Conservation Commission/Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency is expected to vote on its new watercourses regulations Thursday. One proposal would expand the commission’s review area from 100 feet to 150 feet within four watersheds and along the Connecticut River. A second change would ask developers in those watersheds to have no more than 10 percent of impervious surfaces, such as driveways and roofs, in their proposals. The final change would allow the town to impose and collect fines for any violations of regulations. via Conservation Commission Expected To Vote On Wetland Amendments – Courant.com. SIMSBURY — The Farmington River Watershed Association (www.frwa.org), the Old Well Tavern and the Farmington River Brewery are joining forces to host a one-of-a-kind fundraiser: an Indoor Country Fair at the Old Well Tavern in Simsbury to benefit FRWA on Sunday, Feb. 21. What better way is there to beat the winter blues than some hot country music, great food and fantastic beverages? via Indoor Country Fair to benefit watershed association | Foothills Media Group. An estimate to build and extend trails as part of the Willimantic Whitewater Partnership’s goal to transform the city area into a recreation hub is more than $1 million over budget, town officials said. The project would connect trails with surrounding towns, with the WWP even purchasing a site that would be the future home of a Willimantic River park for kayakers. via Whitewater project’s status up for debate :: Columbia Today. Normally, water issues in Connecticut concern someone dumping 100 gallons of fuel oil into a stream or dealing with the residual industrial chemicals that still linger in the silt of rivers. But the current fight isn’t about what’s in the water — it’s about the water itself. via Wth water, quantity matters – NewsTimes. Earlier this month, an ad hoc citizens group named the Friends of the Quinebaug River filed an unusual motion with the state Department of Environmental Protection. We asked the DEP to modify an approved water diversion permit held by highly controversial Plainfield Renewable Energy, a proposed power plant that will burn primarily construction and demolition debris. It is owned by French-based Suez Energy. Most of the year, there is plenty of water for everyone. Our concern is for the times where there isn’t. It is our view that if the owners of PRE insist on using wet cooling technology, that during low-flow conditions (known as 7Q10 events), PRE’s river diversion should be curtailed. Of course, this could mean being unable to run for a month or more per year. Robert Noiseux of Canterbury is an engineer and technical adviser to the Friends of the Quinebaug River. via Unprotected Flow: Plainfield Trash Plant Allowed Year-Round Tap On Quinebaug – Courant.com. It’s one thing to control the flow of water from a spigot or shower head; it’s quite another to manage something as big and unpredictable as a river. But that hasn’t stopped the state Department of Environmental Protection from indulging the conceit that it can order up, like Goldilocks, stream flows that are just right. via Commentary: Swimming against the tide | The Republican-American. Storm water runoff often leads to polluted water because heavy rain will sweep along any chemicals, oil or sewage into brooks, streams, rivers and, in the case of Port Chester, into Long Island Sound. via SOS: Cleaning up the Byram River should be a priority – GreenwichTime. Connecticut is blessed with water. For such a small state, it is home to 2,000 lakes and reservoirs and 5,800 miles of streams. That’s 10 feet of river for every man, woman and child. Nevertheless, a major battle is looming between state government, in rare agreement with Connecticut’s environmental community, and a powerful coalition of companies and municipalities over the future of those rivers. via Battle looming over water | by George Krimsky, The Republican-American. HARTFORD — Connecticut’s water companies declared war Wednesday on proposed regulations to control water flow in the state’s rivers. Backed by statewide municipal and business associations, a consortium of water utilities called a news conference here to oppose a state-sponsored plan that they claim will cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” and reduce drinking water supplies to the public. via Utilities reject river rules | The Republican-American. HARTFORD — A broad coalition of business groups and community leaders is opposing regulations proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection that would govern how much water could be drawn from the state’s rivers and streams, as well as associated watersheds. “These regulations, if enacted, will threaten the ability of water companies to meet the needs of consumers,” said Elizabeth Gara, executive director of the Connecticut Water Works Association, a group that represents investor-owned and public water utilities. via Group rips proposed DEP regulations on water use – The New Haven Register. And from James Mosher at the Bulletin: Hartford, Conn. — Some local entities are joining a statewide business and government coalition to stop regulations they say will thwart economic recovery and reduce water supplies. via Coalition of towns, businesses fighting state stream flow regulations – Norwich Bulletin. |
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