THESE DRAFT MINUTES HAVE BEEN PREPARED BY STAFF AS AN INTERIM RECORD OF THE MOTIONS, VOTES AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE MEETING.  AT THE MEETING THERE WERE MANY COMMENTS OFFERED REGARDING THE COUNCIL’S DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGISLATION AND THE COUNCIL’S DRAFT REPORT “DIGGING CONNECTICUT”. A COMPLETE SUMMARY OF THOSE COMMENTS AND SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSIONS WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY.

AT THE NEXT MEETING, COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL REVIEW THE MINUTES AND MIGHT MAKE CORRECTIONS BEFORE APPROVING THEM.  READERS SHOULD RELY ON THE APPROVED VERSION FOR A COMPLETELY ACCURATE RECORD.

Minutes of the January 27, 2016 meeting of the Council on Environmental Quality, held in the Holcombe Conference Room on the fifth floor of 79 Elm Street in Hartford.

PRESENT FROM THE COUNCIL: Susan Merrow (Chair), Janet Brooks, Alicea Charamut, Lee Dunbar, Alison Hilding, Kip Kolesinskas, Peter Hearn (Environmental Analyst).

INVITED GUESTS, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: Bill Ethier, Melanie A. Bachman, Don Schubert, Deputy Commissioner Michael Sullivan, Margaret Miner, Eric Brown, Timothy S. Hollister.

At 9:07 AM, Chair Merrow convened the meeting, noting a quorum.

Chair Merrow asked for approval of the agenda. Kolesinskas made a motion to approve the agenda which was seconded by Charamut and approved unanimously.

Chair Merrow asked for a motion to approve the minutes of December 16, 2015. Dunbar made a motion to approve the minutes. This was seconded by Charamut and approved, with Brooks abstaining because she had not attended the December meeting.

At the meeting there were many comments offered regarding the council’s draft recommendations for legislation and the council’s draft report “Digging Connecticut”. (A complete summary of those comments and subsequent discussions will follow shortly.)

The meeting adjourned at 11:57 AM. A motion to adjourn was made by Dunbar, seconded by Hilding and approved by all.