Connecticut State Council on Environmental Quality

1. Second Notice of Environmental Impact Evaluation for Mirror Lake Improvements Project

Address of Project Location: Mansfield Road at the University of Connecticut, Storrs

Municipality where it is located: Mansfield

Project Description: The University of Connecticut proposes to make improvements to Mirror Lake – an approximately 5-acre stormwater basin on the University’s Storrs Campus. The proposed project consists of the following elements:

  • Dam safety improvements, including replacing the existing spillway with a stepped spillway and raising the dam’s earthen embankment

  • Stormwater management improvements, including the rerouting of several discharge points into sedimentation forebays and regrading of upstream and downstream slopes

  • Dredging and improvements to aquatic ecosystems, including the use of hydraulic and mechanical dredging to remove accumulated sediments and restore the lake depth

  • Landscape improvements, including littoral zone plantings and site-specific amenities that enhance cultural benefits and improve access to the water’s edge

Scoping Notice and Post-Scoping Notice: Beginning on November 16, 2021, the University of Connecticut published the first of three Notices of Scoping in the Environmental Monitor. A public scoping meeting was held virtually on December 8, 2021, and the 30-day comment period closed on December 16, 2021.  The University of Connecticut published a post-scoping notice on February 22, 2022 in the Environmental Monitor.

 

Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE) Notice: On April 5, 2022, the University published a Notice of Availability of an Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE) in the Environmental Monitor and held a public hearing on April 13, 2022.  Additional information regarding the project, its notices and a recording of the hearing is available at https://updc.uconn.edu/mirror-lake.

 

A copy of the EIE is available at: https://s.uconn.edu/mleie

 

Questions and comments on the EIE were received through May 20, 2022.  Additional questions or comments will be accepted until 5 pm on Friday, September 16, 2022 to the agency contact below.  Requests for a second public hearing on this EIE must be received by 5 pm on Friday, August 12, 2022.  Email is preferred, please use “Mirror Lake EIE” in the subject line:

Name:  Ian Dann, Project Manager

Agency:  University Planning, Design and Construction

Address:  3 Discovery Drive U-6038, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-6038

Phone:  (860) 486-6503

E-Mail:  ian.dann@uconn.edu

Inquiries and requests to view and or copy documents, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, must be submitted at https://publicrecords.uconn.edu/make-a-request/.

What happens next: The University submitted its Record of Decision to the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) for review, pending additional comments. A revised Record of Decision and OPM's Determination of Adequacy will each appear in a future edition of the Environmental Monitor.