A little more than a decade ago, the state took on the “Sooty Six,” Connecticut’s dirtiest power plants, and passed legislation that eventually reduced emissions by 86 percent. At the time, it was called “a fantastic victory for public health in Connecticut.” But critics say it has not helped inner-city Latinos and others who are seeing increasing incidents of asthma and other illnesses.
In Hartford, activist Carmen Cordero points to the exhaust from the smokestack of the trash-to-energy plant operated by the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA) in the city’s South Meadows. A member of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, she says, “They say they are turning trash into energy, but not only are they burning our trash; they are burning everyone else’s trash and we’re inhaling it.”