Council on Environmental Quality Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the June 26, 2024, meeting of the Council on Environmental Quality (Council) held in person at 79 Elm Street, Hartford and via Zoom.

MEMBERS PRESENT: (in person) Charles Vidich, Christopher Donnelly, Denise Rodosevich, (remote) Keith Ainsworth (Acting Chair), and William Warzecha.

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Paul Aresta (Council - Executive Director), Jordan DiDomenico (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)), Eric Hammerling (DEEP), Justine Phillips-Gallucci (Office of Policy and Management (OPM)), Becca Dahl (OPM), Bruce Wittchen (OPM), and Lisette Stone (Department of Public Health (DPH)). 

1. Call to Order: Establishment of a Quorum
At 9:30 AM, Ainsworth called the meeting to order, took attendance, and confirmed that there was a quorum of Council members present.

2. Approval of Minutes from May 22, 2024
Donnelly made a motion to approve the draft minutes from May 22, 2024 with modifications; seconded by Vidich. Donnelly suggested that the motion in item 6 “Review of Pesticide Report” be revised to state “that the Council look further into what information is needed and what approaches should be taken in order to get a better overall understanding of what pesticides are being applied in the state and how and where they are being applied” and that the last sentence of the second paragraph in Item 8 “Other Business” be changed from “should be less formal” to “could be less formal”. The motion was approved unanimously.

3. Citizen Comment Period
There was no citizen comment.

4. Citizen Complaints and Inquiries Received 

• Aresta reported that Council received an inquiry regarding spill reporting for a spill of home heating oil in Sherman. Council staff responded by indicating that the Council did not retain such records, and Council staff provided the citizen with contact information for the spill response unit at DEEP.
  
  
• Aresta reported that the Council received an inquiry about a venomous snake. Council staff responded by contacting DEEP’s Wildlife Division Director who suggested that the person send a picture of the snake to DEEP’s herpetologist. Council staff conveyed that information and the contact details to the citizen.

• Aresta reported that the Council received a complaint that an individual was possibly in violation of Connecticut’s fishing regulations regarding striped bass. Council staff forwarded the complaint to DEEP’s Fisheries Division and Environmental Conservation and notified the complainant.

• Aresta reported that the Council received a complaint that indicated that the Town of Cornwall plans to build a wastewater treatment facility and a resident was concerned about the impact that the proposed project could have on bats. He added that Council staff contacted DEEP’s Wildlife Division regarding potential impacts to bats from treated wastewater, and DEEP’s Water Planning and Management Division to inquire about the state’s role in permitting the proposed project. Aresta summarized the responses from DEEP’s Wildlife Division and DEEP’s Water Planning and Management Division.

• Aresta reported that the Council received a letter from residents of Hebron and Portland that were concerned about DEEP’s proposed Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the Salmon River State Forest Leesville Block and the Wopowog Wildlife Management Area (WMA). 

5. Executive Director’s Report

• Annual Report
  Aresta noted that Council staff received quotations from the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to print 300 copies of the annual report in two formats. Aresta summarized the printing options for the full annual report and a smaller summary version. There was general discussion regarding the content, format and distribution goals of the annual report. 
  

• Federal Local Bridge Program (Day Road Bridge, Pomfret)
  Aresta reported that Council staff reviewed the site of the Day Road Bridge over the Wappoquia Brook in Pomfret. He added that draft comments have been developed that address protection of state-listed species and wetlands, and provisions for construction activities/equipment in a flood hazard area.
  
  Vidich made a motion to approve the draft comments regarding the Day Road Bridge in Pomfret; seconded by Warzecha. The motion was approved unanimously. 

6. State Agency Actions 
a. DEEP

• Release-Based Remediation Program – Update
  Aresta reported that DEEP held a working group meeting on June 11, and DEEP reviewed “Incidental Public Roadway Releases” that address existing releases on, under or within a roadway right-of-way (ROW). 

•  General Permit for Point Source Discharges to Waters of the State from the Application of Pesticides (General Permit)
  Aresta reported that there will be an informational hearing for the proposed General Permit on July 16 and comments may be submitted to DEEP Adjudications by July 23. He added that draft comments have been developed that suggest greater clarity regarding the threshold values, assessment of the area/length of the threshold values,  and the addition of provisions in Section 3.1 for the protection of drinking water resources. Vidich made a motion to approve the draft comments regarding the General Permit; seconded by Donnelly. The motion was approved unanimously.

• Forest Management Plan: Salmon River State Forest: Leesville Block & Wopowog Wildlife Management Area
  Aresta reported that Council staff reviewed the FMP for the Leesville Block of the Salmon River State Forest and Wopowog Wildlife Management Area (WMA).  He summarized the area that makes up the Leesville Block and of the Wopowog WMA and noted that the proposed FMP calls for various forest management activities on at least 317 acres. Donnelly and Vidich commented that the FMP addresses some of the concerns identified in the citizens’ letter as it relates to forest resiliency and old growth management areas. Ainsworth noted that the letter provided by the residents regarding the FMP was provided to the Council members and is part of the record.

• Request for comments regarding the Shared Clean Energy Facility (SCEF) Program
  Aresta reported that DEEP is soliciting comments regarding the SCEF program for year 6 and that written comments are due by July 11, 2024. He added that draft comments have been developed that address DEEP’s SCEF Program, including the definition of brownfields; bid preferences for brownfields, landfills, and solar canopies;  solar projects on prime farmland and core forests; and slope rules. Rodosevich suggested a negative bid preference for proposals on important farmlands for the SCEF program. Rodosevich also suggested sending comments to the Department of Agriculture to address the proposed requirements for projects sited on Prime Farmland. Aresta indicated that he could add “important farmlands” to the last sentence of the response to question 5, and Rodosevich suggested adding “also see response to question 5” in the response to question 4.

Vidich made a motion to approve the draft comments regarding the SCEF Program with the changes suggested by Rodosevich and others; seconded by Rodosevich. The motion was approved unanimously.

Ainsworth noted that the Council would take a break at 10:30 AM. The Council meeting resumed at 10:36 AM.

Aresta reviewed information on the first four years of the SCEF Program, and the sum of the capacity and count of Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) certified solar projects, with a capacity greater than or equal to 250 kilowatts, that have been installed on rooftops or at ground level in the state. 

b. Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) 
Comments recommended:

• Docket 522 (solar, Stafford) 
  Aresta reported that Council staff reviewed a proposal from Stafford Solar One, LLC to develop and operate a 4.0-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic electric generating facility in Stafford. He reviewed the environmental characteristics of the proposed site and noted that draft comments have been developed that address farmland, wildlife, erosion and sedimentation controls, and spill prevention. Rodosevich suggested that the draft comments be revised to explicitly recommend that the applicant comply with all the requirements of the DEEP Natural Diversity Database (NDDB) correspondence.

Vidich made a motion to approve the draft comments regarding CSC Docket 522 with the changes suggested by Rodosevich; seconded by Warzecha. The motion was approved unanimously.

No comments recommended:

• Petition 1632 (telecom, Norwalk)
  Aresta reported that Council staff reviewed a proposal from New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC (AT&T) to install a small wireless facility on a new Eversource-owned utility pole within the public ROW in Norwalk. He summarized the proposed project and some of the characteristics of the proposed site.

• Petition 1633 (fuel cell, Stratford)
  Aresta reported that Council staff reviewed a proposal from HyAxiom, Inc. to develop and operate a grid-side approximately 4.9-MW facility in Stratford.  He summarized the proposed project and some of the environmental characteristics of the proposed site.

c. Office of Policy and Management

• Conservation and Development (C&D) Plan 2025 – 2030 draft 
  Aresta reported that OPM is soliciting comments regarding the draft C&D Plan for 2025-2030. He noted that the Council submitted comments to OPM in August 2023 suggesting that climate change should be a focus of the draft C&D Plan. He added that draft comments have been developed that address climate change adaption and mitigation and protection and enhancement of environmental resources, including water; reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; Implementation Measures; and the threshold value for consistency review for state actions. Vidich expressed support for assessing the proposed increase of the threshold value and suggested that source reduction and recycling of solid waste be included as an Implementation Measure within the C&D Plan. Donnelly suggested adding “that encourage approaches based on nature-based solutions” to the draft comments.
  
  Vidich made a motion to approve the draft comments regarding the draft C&D Plan with the changes suggested by Vidich and Donnelly; seconded by Rodosevich. The motion was approved unanimously

7. Other Business 

Aresta noted that the next meeting is scheduled for July 24, 2024, at 9:30 AM and it will be a remote meeting. Aresta also noted that a special session for the Connecticut Legislature has been scheduled for June 26, and the Legislature might consider the State Historic Preservation Office process.

Vidich made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 11:06 AM; seconded by Rodosevich. The motion was approved unanimously. The meeting was concluded.

A recording¹ of the meeting is available online and by email request of the Council (email to: CEQ@ct.gov). (Disclaimer: The transcript associated with the meeting recording is computer-generated and may contain typos that have not been edited.)

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