GOAL 9 PROGRESS FROM PREVIOUS QUARTERS

Winter 2025

DEEP overhauled its GIS Open Data Hub with funding from OPM and contractors from ESRI. The branding and layout are now in-line with other state agency GIS Hubs, increasing usability, accessibility, and data transparency. We will provide continued education to the public on our data sharing systems via our websites and through responses to inquiries.

DEEP trained FOIA liaisons throughout the agency on the GovQA platform. Each Bureau at DEEP now has a FOIA lead. In Q1 2025, we received 490 FOIA requests and closed 61% so far; over the past year, we achieved an overall closure rate of 82%.

In Q1 2025, DEEP prepared all Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) records for vendor scanning. DEEP also re-started its Records Management Committee with representatives from each Bureau, together with Assistant Records Management Liaison Officers.

Fall 2024

DEEP updated public data available on our map viewers and data portals. Analytics show that these public data sources are in daily use, viewed thousands of times, and downloaded frequently. DEEP’s CT Geodata Portal updates this quarter include Natural Diversity Database (November 2024) and water pollution control facilities (December 2024). DEEP’s Open Data Portal is also regularly populated with data additions on topics such as hazardous waste, spill incidents, and underground storage tanks. Every quarter, DEEP receives hundreds of FOIA requests, ranging in complexity. We received about 1,300 requests by the end of Q4 2024 and achieved an annual fulfillment rate of 72%.  

Summer 2024 

DEEP’s Property Layer was accessed 435,757 times via our GIS Open Data Hub this quarter; the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act application received 630 views since its release in February; and the Brownfield Inventory Application has received 280 views since the beginning of the year.

DEEP received close to 1,000 Freedom of Information Act requests by Q3 2024, of which 72% have been fulfilled. Over 500 requests were received in Q3 alone. Reports for emergency response unit documents are the most requested. These documents can be found directly by the requestor on our Online Documents Search Portal without going through the FOIA process.

Winter and Spring 2024

DEEP’s new Online Document Search Portal went live with a short instructional video; we updated the land surveyor submission criteria to include GIS-based property layers for faster integration with the DEEP-owned properties layer; we updated the Freedom of Information Act webpage; and the State Emergency Response Commission released a new map viewer.

GOAL 10 PROGRESS FROM PREVIOUS QUARTERS

Winter 2025

In Q1 2025, DEEP and BITS completed testing on the e-payment portal for use across all programs, simplifying and expediting payments to the Department. DEEP and BITS started the development of the Stormwater Industrial Permit (SIP) Application and continued building the internal and external functionality of the Release, Environmental Assessment, and Cleanup Tracking (REACT) system, with hundreds of design elements developed, and construction underway. 

Fall 2024

DEEP and BITS continued work on the construction and development of REACT and electronic payment platforms. DEEP and BITS have also started the discovery and design process for a stormwater electronic permitting platform. The Adjudications Office selected a docket management system and public portal.

Summer 2024

DEEP and BITS identified hundreds of functional and technical features to be included in the new online tracking system, which we named the Release, Environmental Assessment, & Cleanup Tracker (REACT). We listed example documents and applicable regulations and statutes, and we inventoried GIS map layers that will be integrated into the system. We completed 3 development cycles (sprints) that included 70 user stories to test and build the system. We then identified requirements and initiated data migration tasks to integrate our existing data management system with the new platform.

Winter and Spring 2024

DEEP and BITS outlined the activities included in processing electronic payments and tracking release cleanup cases. We began refining the processes to register users on the online platform to allow document and payment submittals.

GOAL 13 PROGRESS FROM PREVIOUS QUARTERS

Winter 2025

DEEP launched a new Public Notices webpage and added new categories for non-permit-related public comment topics. We are also continuing our conversion to Campaign Monitor, a modern email marketing platform. DEEP established an internal Limited English Proficiency Workgroup of volunteers that offer translation and interpretation support for 14 languages.

In the first quarter of 2025, DEEP hosted several major stakeholder engagement efforts:

• Relaunch of the Connecticut Coalition for Sustainable Materials Management (CCSMM) in January 2025 (Past Meeting Minutes and Materials)
• Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) meeting in January 2025
• Conservation & Load Management Plan (2025-2027) Request for Information (RFI) on program design options, responses due by January 17, 2025
• Publication of survey results for the Connecticut State Wildlife Action Plan through the monthly Wildlife Highlights newsletter
• In support of the 2025 revision of Connecticut’s State Wildlife Action Plan, DEEP staff presented a workshop at the Connecticut Land Conservation Council’s annual meeting in March 2025
• Ongoing roundtables and informational webinars on broadband connections to underserved communities

DEEP’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan is now online. We have also added to our fleet of All-Terrain Wheelchairs, now totaling 14 at state parks throughout Connecticut. DEEP received a Bronco Wildlife Grant to improve trail accessibility.

Fall 2024

With the Q4 2024 progress report, DEEP launched a new e-book format for 20BY26 reporting, improving the user experience for reading updates on the initiative, and streamlining our work to provide this information to the public. DEEP updated its Stakeholder Participation and Outreach webpage to make it easier for the public to access stakeholder work groups and contacts. We established a quarterly newsletter to provide conservation and advocacy groups with implementation updates on the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) and tabled at the Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetland Commissions event in November 2024. 

DEEP hosted an agency-wide Innovation Fair in December 2024 for municipalities, legislators, and the general public in the Gina McCarthy Auditorium at DEEP Headquarters in Hartford. Forty-five posters represented programs across DEEP, showcasing a taste of what DEEP does.

DEEP's Office of Telecommunications and Broadband continued outreach and engagement efforts hosting a total of 21 events, directly connecting with 425 stakeholders to drive awareness and program participation with quarterly roundtables for Internet Service Providers; State, Tribal, and Local Governments; and Community Organizations in collaboration with DAS's Commission for Educational Technology and the Connecticut Education Network. We published the 2024 Connecticut Broadband Report, highlighting Connecticut’s progress in closing the digital divide through strategic interagency collaboration and targeted initiatives and providing a comprehensive evaluation of advancements and ongoing challenges in achieving universal broadband access and adoption. We launched a new easy to use survey for property owners, managers and tenants to help fast-track eligibility for multi-family homes that need better broadband wiring through the ConneCTed Communities Grant Program.

Summer 2024

DEEP achieved the following:

• Hosted an Open House for the Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse with 8 informational posters on topics ranging from Stream Flow to Brownfields and many great conversations with consultants, municipal officials, environmental attorneys, and DEEP staff from other bureaus.
• Launched its new State Parks calendar on the State Parks website.
• Expanded equitable and sustainable access to Connecticut State Parks and Forests, DEEP started an all-terrain wheelchair program at 5 State Parks and Forests - Dinosaur State Park; Gillette Castle State Park; Harkness Memorial State Park; Rocky Neck State Park; and Topsmead State Forest – using Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. In September 2024, Dinosaur State Park hosted an all-terrain wheelchair event, and DEEP made a training video with trail maps for the public.
• Closed stakeholder surveys on Connecticut's State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) with a total of 224 responses; DEEP will convert this feedback into actionable items in the Plan to preserve the state’s biodiversity.
• Developed, in collaboration the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), a listing of all available broadband programs across all state agencies; engaged with EducationSuperHighway on connecting with stakeholders in Distressed Municipalities who are aware of Multi-Dwelling Unit (MDUs) in need of wiring upgrades as part of DEEP’s ConneCTed Communities Grant Program; and attended Congressman Joe Courtney’s Federal Resource Fair to share information with community partners about the BEAD and ConneCTed Communities Grant programs.
• Established an internal Language Bank with staff who can provide language support during agency outreach as part of improving Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in communications with stakeholders.
• Improved communications with Campaign Monitor, transitioning or decommissioning over 50% of our newsletters and e-mail lists to consolidate communications on one platform for greater effectiveness, efficiency, and flexibility.

Winter and Spring 2024

DEEP updated its Contacts Webpage for faster assistance and set up a new email marketing and public awareness platform with Campaign Monitor for better flow of targeted information. DEEP engaged thousands of stakeholders for feedback on the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), and Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD).

GOAL 20 PROGRESS FROM PREVIOUS QUARTERS

Winter 2025

DEEP worked to train staff on Power BI and created more metrics dashboards.

Fall 2024

DEEP set up a framework for the metrics dashboards and completed the first group of pilot dashboards for waste, renewables, and grant funding opportunities.

Summer 2024

DEEP identified approximately 20 potential datasets in the categories of waste, energy, water, air, and conservation from across our agency. We began two pilot dashboards using Power BI, with data from the 2022 Annual Solid Waste Report and renewable energy technology deployment in Connecticut.

Winter and Spring 2024

This stakeholder-suggested goal was launched in August 2024.