Katherine Hepburn’s dune has taken a severe beating, but a living shoreline would protect it and the surrounding area.
Long Island Sound
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT, NY in court battle over dumping in Long Island Sound
A federal court will decide whether Connecticut can dump sediment in the eastern part of Long Island Sound, a benefit to Electric Boat and Groton’s sub base.
Posted inPolitics
As federal shutdown lengthens, impact on state, local governments grows
Washington– The longer the federal government is shut down, the more state and local governments will feel the disruption in Washington.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Connecticut on front line of key fights with Pruitt’s EPA
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rejected Connecticut’s petition to force a power plant in York County, Pa. to cut down on smog pollutants that the state claims heavily contribute to its unhealthy air. But the state hopes to have other wins, and is at the forefront of the resistance to the agency’s proposed rollback of protections on air and water.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
U.S. House votes to block Plum Island sale
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that would block the sale of Plum Island — a strip of land in Long Island Sound — to the highest bidder. The voice vote on the bill was a substantial win for environmentalists, conservationists and Connecticut lawmakers who want to preserve the island as a natural habitat — but only if the Senate follows suit.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Congress considers L.I. Sound program Trump wants to defund
WASHINGTON — Even as President Donald Trump wants to strip all money from the program, a key congressional committee on Tuesday moved on a bill that would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to spend $65 million a year on the cleanup of Long Island Sound.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Trump would slash CT environment funds; hit to Sound feared
The Trump administration called massive cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency an attempt to ease the burden of unnecessary federal regulations. Connecticut’s environmental commissioner called it an assault on public health and the environment.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Malloy, Cuomo face off over dumping in Long Island Sound
WASHINGTON – New York officials say a plan to dump dredged material in eastern Long Island Sound is potentially harmful to the ecology and tourism, but Connecticut supporters say it’s key to the state’s economic development and to keeping Naval Submarine Base New London off a base closure list.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
CT fighting move to give Long Island Sound waters to New York, Rhode Island
WASHINGTON – Connecticut’s lawmakers and state officials are trying to derail a bill would take about 150 square miles of Long Island Sound waters from federal government control and give that authority to New York and Rhode Island, a move that could hurt the state’s fishermen.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Massive rail plan leaves Connecticut hopeful but mystified
Proposals to reinvent the Northeast Corridor rail system could impact Connecticut more than any other state. But a lack of detail in the plans is causing exasperation even among those who have been pushing for rail improvements for decades, and it has environmentalists worrying whether losses will outweigh the benefits.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT’s repeat flood damage dilemma: move out or rebuild?
Thousands of Connecticut homes have been repeatedly damaged by flooding due to storms. costing the government millions in insurance claims. The losses are now causing some to question the wisdom of policies that encourage rebuilding. They say that with climate change, those properties will grow more vulnerable and money would be better spent moving people out. So far, however, few homeowners are interested.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
We can all help protect Long Island Sound
Water quality begins at the point of discharge, not in relocation of bottom materials from one location to another. It is a very important distinction to make when talking about one of Connecticut’s most precious assets, Long Island Sound. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently released a draft Dredged Material Management Plan. Digging up the material at the bottom of our waterways is critical to ensure public access and commerce.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Session tally: Energy and environment hits, misses and almosts
For those pursuing energy and environmental initiatives, this legislative session was already heading toward half-a-loaf results before the budget impasse erupted. In the end there were big wins, big losses and everything in between.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
On conservation’s front lines, districts facing budget cuts
The five little-known Connecticut Conservation Districts help municipalities and the public with soil and water conservation problems and projects they can’t handle themselves. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget would end all $300,000 in state funding for the districts — money they say is necessary to run their offices and leverage larger sums in the form of grants.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
A storm rages over CT’s stormwater
Managing the water that flows into the thousands upon thousands of storm drains around the state — an otherwise standard municipal function — has become something close to a standoff between the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and a battalion of those municipalities.