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

Long Island Sound Blue Plan Policies

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What the Blue Plan Policies Do and Don't Do

The Blue Plan's policies and information will provide the basis for existing permit programs identified by statute to achieve clearer and more certain protection of the economic, cultural, and ecological values of Long Island Sound, including existing traditional human uses and ecologically significant areas. As such, the Blue Plan will serve as a guide to show what the applicable state and local permit decision-making processes will consider and be based upon. This will provide new and better insight for stakeholders and applicants up-front.

The Blue Plan will not create new regulations; rather, it will provide greater clarity and guidance for how decisions will be made under specified existing regulatory programs. Depending on what an application proposes and where the activity would be located, there may be specific actions and/or analyses that an applicant will need to perform that are defined in advance by Blue Plan policies. However, these actions and/or analyses would be the same as those that would normally be determined and required post-submission during the existing permitting process. With the Blue Plan, the need for those actions or analyses will be made clearer up-front, so an applicant can more effectively and efficiently prepare an application.

To achieve clearer and more certain protection of the economic, cultural, and ecological values of Long Island Sound, the Blue Plan will establish new clarity on spatial locations where applications for new uses may have restrictions or conditions, or be prohibited (e.g., not siting a permanent structure in an existing navigational channel). For instance, maps of the Blue Plan's Ecologically Significant Areas and Significant Human Use Areas will provide place-based guidance to interpret Blue Plan policy and create greater clarity for applicants, by highlighting existing traditional human uses and ecological resources.

Blue Plan Draft Policy Document

Please note this first draft of the policies proposed to be included in the Long Island Sound Blue Plan was made available for review and comment in October 2018. The revised policies were included in the first draft of the Blue Plan.

To provide comments and feedback on the Long Island Blue Plan:

  • Email us at DEEP.BluePlanLIS@ct.gov
  • Mail your comments to:
    LIS Blue Plan
    Land and Water Resources Division – Planning
    CT DEEP
    79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106
  • Fill out a comment form and email or mail the form to us.
  • Participate in Blue Plan Public Meetings and Hearings.

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Content Last Updated February 18, 2020