Connecticut State Council on Environmental Quality

Environmental Monitor

June 17, 2014 

  1.    New Britain Infrastructure/Roadway Improvements along Route 71, New Britain
  2.    Groton Water Treatment Plant Upgrade, Groton
  3.    NEW! Proposed Disposition of the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus, West Hartford
  1.    NEW! Replacement of Atlantic Street MNRR Bridge, Stamford
  
    No Environmental Impact Evaluation has been submitted for publication in this edition.  
     
 
    No state land transfer notice has been submitted for publication in this edition. 
               
The next edition of the Environmental Monitor will be published on  July 8, 2014.
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Scoping Notices

"Scoping" is for projects in the earliest stages of planning.  At the scoping stage, detailed information on a project's design, alternatives, and environmental impacts does not yet exist.  Sponsoring agencies are asking for comments from other agencies and from the public as to the scope of alternatives and environmental impacts that should be considered for further study.  Send your comments to the contact person listed for the project by the date indicated.

The following Scoping Notices have been submitted for review and comment.
1. Notice of Scoping for New Britain Infrastructure/Roadway Improvements along Route 71

Municipality where proposed project might be located: New Britain

Address of Possible Project Location: Along Route 71, New Britain, CT

Project Description: The City of New Britain is requesting state financial assistance for certain infrastructure/roadway improvements along Hartford Road (CT Route 71) and the Route 9 northbound off-ramp at Hartford Road to support economic development and job creation in the City of New Britain.  The City has approved plans for the construction of a new Costco Wholesale facility on a nearby parcel of property owned by the City adjacent to the existing Target store.  The identified roadway infrastructure improvements will enable the Costco project to move forward.  As part of the project, the State DOT will convey 15.5 acres of unused land located in the Town of Newington to the City of New Britain.  Part of this land will be used for golf course improvements and part of it will be protected from development by a conservation easement.  This conveyance is authorized by Special Act 13-23, approved by the Connecticut General Assembly and signed by Governor Malloy.

The roadway improvements would fix a long-standing problem of limited left-turn capacity from the Route 9 northbound off-ramp onto Route 71.  The construction of an additional left-turn lane will help to alleviate traffic congestion in the area.  The construction activity at the Route 9 off-ramp would occur entirely on land owned by the State Department of Transportation.  This land was previously graded and improved as part of the overall overpass improvements previously built at Route 71 and Route 9.  As part of this project roadway improvements would also be made to Route 71, on land currently owned by the State and the City of New Britain, to safely accommodate traffic in the area.

Project Maps:  Click here to view an aerial photo map of the project area. Click here to view a Site Plan of the project area. Click here to view a map of proposed golf course improvements.

Written comments from the public are welcomed and will be accepted until the close of business on:  June 20, 2014.

Any person can ask the sponsoring agency to hold a Public Scoping Meeting by sending such a request to the address below.  If a meeting is requested by 25 or more individuals, or by an association that represents 25 or more members, the sponsoring agency shall schedule a Public Scoping Meeting.  Such requests must be made by May 30, 2014.

Written comments and/or requests for a Public Scoping Meeting should be sent to:

Name: Mark Hood
Agency: Department of Economic and Community Development
Address: 505 Hudson Street, Hartford, CT 06106
Fax: 860-270-8157
E-Mail: mark.hood@ct.gov

If you have questions about the public meeting, or other questions about the scoping for this project, contact:

Name: Mark Hood
Agency: Department of Economic and Community Development
Address: 505 Hudson Street, Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: 860-270-8089
Fax: 860-270-8157
E-Mail: mark.hood@ct.gov
2. Notice of Scoping for the Groton Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

Municipality where proposed project might be located: Town of Groton

Address of Possible Project Location: 1268 Poquonnock Road

Project Description: Groton Utilities (GU) proposes to upgrade its existing Poquonnock Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to address water quality issues. The WTP was originally constructed in 1938 with capacity expansions occurring in 1947 and 1962. The latest renovations to the WTP occurred in 1989 and consisted of major modifications to the chemical feed systems. Realizing that the majority of the WTP components are antiquated, improvements to the facility are crucial for infrastructure sustainability.  GU currently provides water to the residents (45,000 people) of the City of Groton and has existing commitments to supply water to several municipalities including Noank Fire District, Groton Long Point, Ledyard, Montville, and Aquarion Water serving Mystic. The plant currently has an approved production capacity of 14 million gallon per day (MGD) and has a maximum flow rate of 20 MGD.  However, the City of Groton has incurred a reduction in industrial water demand in recent years. As a result of this reduction, the proposed upgrades will reduce the plant’s capacity from 14 MGD to 12 MGD while allowing the City to meet its existing water supply commitments and the water demands of its existing service area for the next 30 to 50 years.

The project within the Poquonnock Water Treatment Plant includes modifications to the existing low lift pumping station and coagulation mixing process, retrofitting the existing unit 3 settling basins with new dissolved-air flotation (DAF) and granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration processes, retrofitting the existing unit 3 filters with a manganese adsorption process, replacing the existing vertical turbine pumps in-place with lower horsepower intermediate pumping, retrofitting the existing unit 1 settling basin with new high lift and backwash pumping, addition of two (2) new 1 million gallon water storage tanks, converting the existing unit 2 settling basins to backwash recycle tanks, modified residuals management, chemical feed system upgrades, new yard piping, safety upgrades, automation, electrical upgrades including but not limited to standby power generation facilities, and building envelope and building systems improvements including architectural, structural, mechanical/HVAC and electrical, all with a focus on energy efficiency, sustainability and green energy alternatives.

The footprint of the DAF/GAC addition to the existing WTP is 110-feet by 132-feet or approximately 14,534 square feet. The water storage tanks will be 77-foot in diameter and 35-foot high each.

Project Maps:  Click here to view a map of the project area.Click here to view a conceptual site development plan for the project.

Written comments from the public are welcomed and will be accepted until the close of business on:  Thursday, July 3, 2014.

Any person can ask the sponsoring agency to hold a Public Scoping Meeting by sending such a request to the address below.  If a meeting is requested by 25 or more individuals, or by an association that represents 25 or more members, the sponsoring agency shall schedule a Public Scoping Meeting.  Such requests must be made by Friday, June 13, 2014.

Written comments and/or requests for a Public Scoping Meeting should be sent to:

Name:

Mr. Eric McPhee

Agency:

Department of Public Health – Drinking Water Section

Address:

410 Capitol Avenue, MS #51WAT, PO Box 340308

Hartford, CT 06134-0308

E-Mail:

Dph.sourceprotection@ct.gov

Fax:          

860-509-7359

If you have questions about the public meeting, or other questions about the scoping for this project, contact:    

Name:

Ms. Patricia Bisacky

Agency:

Department of Public Health – Drinking Water Section

Address:

410 Capitol Avenue, MS #51WAT, PO Box 340308

Hartford, CT 06134-0308

E-Mail:

Patricia.Bisacky@ct.gov

Phone:

860-509-7333
3. Notice of Scoping for Proposed Disposition of the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus
Municipality where proposed project might be located: West Hartford
 
Address of Possible Project Location: 85 Lawler Road, 1345 Trout Brook Drive, and 1796-1800 Asylum Ave., West Hartford, CT
 
Project Description:  The Greater Hartford campus is currently situated on 58 acres and includes the Harleigh B. Tracker Library; the Information Technology Center building; the School of Social Work building; the Undergraduate building; and a Facilities Operations building. The campus also includes surface parking for 1,050 vehicles and intramural playing fields. It currently serves approximately 1,400 undergraduate and 1,520 full- and part-time graduate students.  In addition, there are approximately 410 faculty and other affiliated or non-affiliated staff utilizing the facilities.
 
The operations of UConn’s Greater Hartford campus are moving to the City of Hartford at a site anchored by the former Hartford Times building. Final agreements to authorize the move were signed on June 3, 2014, and construction will start in late 2015 or early 2016. Classes are expected to begin as early as fall 2017. 
 
Possible disposition for the current Greater Hartford (i.e., West Hartford) campus might include, but not be limited to, the following or any combination thereof: 
  • Demolition of campus improvements
  • Stabilizing and securing campus buildings and grounds (e.g., mothballing)
  • Reuse by an institute of higher education
  • Reuse and/or redevelopment by a state agency or municipality
  • Redevelopment for commercial and/or residential use
  • No action (remains an active UConn campus).
Considerations include, but are not limited to, the socio-economic linkages with the nearby Bishop's Corner neighborhood and the entire Town of West Hartford; consistency with the local, regional, and state plans of conservation and development; future use and disposal of hazardous materials; campus areas within the floodplain/floodway of Trout Brook; and wetlands.
 
Note: The University received written confirmation from CT Office of Policy and Management that an Environmental Impact Evaluation is not required for the redevelopment of the abandoned Hartford Times office building for educational use (LINK to letter).

Project Maps:  Click here to view a map of the project area. Click here to view a map of the existing campus. 

There will be a Public Scoping Meeting for this proposed action at:

Date:    August 12, 2014

Time:   7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)

Place:   Zachs Community Room, School of Social Work Building, UConn Greater Hartford Campus, 1798 Asylum Ave., West Hartford, CT
Directions:       (link to Google Maps for directions)

Written comments from the public on the nature and extent of the possible listed actions are welcomed and will be accepted until the close of business on:  August 17, 2014.

Written comments should be sent to:

Name: Jason Coite

Agency: University of Connecticut

Address: 31 LeDoyt Road, Storrs, CT

Fax: 860-486-5477

E-Mail: jason.coite@uconn.edu

If you have questions about the Public Scoping Meeting, or other questions about the scoping for this project, contact:

Name: Jason Coite

Agency: University of Connecticut

Address: 31 LeDoyt Road, Storrs, CT

Phone:  860-486-9305

Fax: 860-486-5477

E-Mail: jason.coite@uconn.edu

 
Post-Scoping Notices:   Environmental Impact Evaluation Not Required
 
This category is required by the October 2010 revision of the Generic Environmental Classification Document for State Agencies. A notice is published here if the sponsoring agency, after publication of a scoping notice and consideration of comments received, has determined that an  Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE) does not need to be prepared for the proposed project.

 

The following Post-Scoping Notice has been submitted for publication in this edition.
1. Post-Scoping Notice for Replacement of Atlantic St. MNRR Bridge

Municipality where project will be located: Stamford, CT

CEPA Determination:  On November 5, 2013 the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) published a Notice of Scoping to solicit public comments for this project in the Environmental Monitor.  In addition, a Public Scoping Meeting took place on Tuesday November 19, 2013 at the Government Center in Stamford.  During the comment period CTDOT received comments from the Department of Public Health and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.  Shortly after the close of the comment period, CTDOT received comments from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Historic Neighborhood Preservation Program (HNPP). The CTDOT has taken those comments into consideration and after working closely with the City of Stamford, CT SHPO and the HNPP, CTDOT has concluded that the project does not require the preparation of Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE) under CEPA.

The agency's conclusion is documented in an Environmental Assessment Checklist and a Memo of Findings and Determination.

If you have questions about the project, you can contact the agency at:

Name:
Mr. Mark W. Alexander, Transportation Assistant Planning Director

Agency:

 Connecticut Department of Transportation

Address:

 2800 Berlin Turnpike
Newington, CT 06131

Phone:

860-594-2931

E-Mail:  


What happens next: The CTDOT expects the project to go forward. This is expected to be the final notice of the project to be published in the Environmental Monitor.

 
 
 After Scoping, an agency that wishes to undertake an action that could significantly affect the environment must produce, for public review and comment, a detailed written evaluation of the expected environmental impacts. This is called an Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE).

No Environmental Impact Evaluation has been submitted for publication in this edition.
 
 
 
 Connecticut General Statutes Section 4b-47 requires public notice of most proposed sales and transfers of state-owned lands. The public has an opportunity to comment on any such proposed transfer. Each notice includes an address where comments should be sent. Read more about the five-step process.

No State Land Transfer Notice has been submitted for publication in this edition.

 
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