Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Emergency Burn Ban In Effect 10/26/24 - An emergency burn ban is now in effect for all Connecticut State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management areas, prohibiting the use of all outdoor grills, firepits, and campfires, and the kindling and use of flame outdoors. DEEP and local agencies are working to contain several active fires across the state. Please avoid all affected State Parks and Forests, as well as the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. The Enduro Trail in Voluntown and portions of North Stonington within the Pachaug State Forest are closed at this time. Please note that today's forest fire danger report remains at an 'extreme' level. More information about the current fire danger, burn ban and recommended safety measures can be found here

 
SO2 Planning Efforts

Section 107(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) provides up to one year after EPA’s adoption of a new or revised National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for states to recommend initial designation of areas as “attainment”, “nonattainment” or “unclassifiable”.  On June 2, 2010, EPA strengthened the NAAQS for sulfur dioxide (SO2) to provide better public health protection.  EPA revised the primary SO2 standard by establishing a new 1-hour standard at a level of 75 parts per billion (ppb).  The EPA also specified that the existing SO2 primary standards  (i.e., 140 ppb, 24-hour average and 30 ppb, annual average) will be revoked one year after the effective date of initial designations for the new 1-hour NAAQS for most existing SO2 attainment areas.
Under the revised SO2 NAAQS, EPA intended to establish initial designations using a hybrid approach that combines air quality monitoring and source-specific dispersion modeling.  Connecticut’s SO2 monitors currently measure compliance with the revised SO2 NAAQS and DEEP completed source-specific modeling that supported a designation of "attainment".  Therefore, Connecticut requested that EPA promulgate a statewide designation of "attainment". On December 22, 2017, EPA sent CTDEEP a letter with the final SO2 designations for the 2010 primary SO2 NAAQS for the State of Connecticut. EPA desingated Connecticut as "unclassifiable/attainment" for SO2.
EPA's letter regarding final designations for the 2010 1-Hour SO2 Standard and the technical support document.
Content Last Updated on August 30, 2018