courant.com | Rell Clean Water Initiative Too Small, Coalition Says
One of Gov. M. Jodi Rell's major budget initiatives - to keep Connecticut waters free of pollution - is well-intentioned but too small by half, an alliance of environmental, municipal and economic interests declared Tuesday.
The Clean Water Investment Coalition said the state needs to allocate about $300 million over the next two years to water-related public works projects, the full amount requested by Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy - compared with the $140 million Rell has proposed.
Besides a host of environmental groups, the 20-member coalition includes the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the Metropolitan District Commission, the Connecticut Construction Industries Association, the State Building Trades Council and lobstermen associations.
In a sign the coalition has lawmakers' support, the first speakers at a noontime news conference at the Legislative Office Building were the chairmen of the General Assembly's environment committee, who focused on protecting Long Island Sound.
"Every bit of water in Connecticut drains into Long Island Sound, which is our most precious natural resource," said Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford. He spoke of endangered coastal marshes "where life begins" for the Sound ecosystem.
Sen. Bill Finch, D-Bridgeport, said the Sound is Connecticut's equivalent of the Grand Canyon. Boosting funding for clean water projects may be "the single most important thing the environment committee can do for years and years," he said.
The Sound, however, is forced to swallow about 2 billion gallons of untreated sewage a year, said Megan Hearne, steward of the Connecticut River Watershed Council. About half of it flows down the Connecticut River from the Hartford area.
The 2-year-old coalition, organized by the Conference of Municipalities, said the state's Clean Water Fund for pollution control projects, financed mostly by bonding, has been neglected in recent years. ......
