Recommendations

Remedying the Deficiencies of Existing Programs and Activities

The Council acknowledges the efforts of the Governor and Legislature in enacting legislation in recent years to address the critically important issue of climate change. Consistent with its charge to recommend actions to improve state environmental programs, the Council recommends the following:

• Agricultural Land and Core Forests - Protect agricultural land and core forests by expanding the forest and farmland protections of Public Act 17-218 to include any solar energy project within the jurisdiction of the Connecticut Siting Council.
  
  
• Invasive Species - Protect Connecticut from invasive species by enhancing education and increasing resources to combat invasive species.
  
  
• Land Preservation:

1. Enhance land preservation efforts by allocating resources so that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and its conservation partners can better track and preserve, through acquisition or easement, priority conservation land;
2. Refine the Department of Agriculture’s (DOA) Farmland Preservation Program and the Community Farms Preservation Program to preserve significantly more acres of farmland; and
3. Clarify the intent of Connecticut General Statute Section 7-131n that any conversion of park land owned or in the care of municipalities be maintained as parks or if they must be converted for some other use, that parks be replaced at a greater than one-to-one ratio.

• Solid waste and Recycling – Increase the diversion of solid waste (recycling, composting, source reduction, etc.) and the redemption of beverage containers.
  
  
• Ridership – Enhance ridership of public transportation by serving people with unmet transportation needs and attracting more people that have transportation options.
  
  
• Wetlands - Increase staff resources within the Land and Water Resources Division at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) designated specifically to assisting municipal wetland officials and commissions. Such assistance should include 1) conducting audits of permits issued by inland wetlands agencies to provide targeted education, 2) expanding the training program for municipal officials, 3) assessing the possibility of using electronic submission of the “Activity Reporting Form” to enhance municipal participation and to increase the efficiency of the reporting process, and 4) helping to ensure compliance with applicable wetlands laws.