News Releases - 2023

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• 12/28/2023 Connecticut Celebrates the New Year with First Day Hikes on Jan. 1

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and its partners are encouraging folks to get outside on New Year’s Day. Walk, hike, and enjoy nature safely on January 1st by joining our many volunteer state park friends groups as Connecticut celebrates First Day Hikes, a nationwide initiative to get outdoors.

• 12/22/2023 2024 Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp Art Competition Welcomes Entries through March 15, 2024

  (HARTFORD) — Entries are now being accepted for the 2024 Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp Art Competition. This annual competition, which seeks creative young artists and art educators in Connecticut, is coordinated and sponsored by the Connecticut Waterfowl Association in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The competition is part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) environmental education program known as the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program.

• 12/11/2023 DEEP Requests Proposals for Recreational Trails Grants

  (HARTFORD, CT) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is now accepting proposals for the State’s Recreational Trails Program Grants. This request for applications is the largest funding round in the history of the Recreational Trails Grant program since it was established in 1997. It will make $10 million available to improve Connecticut’s trail infrastructure, which has seen significant usage increases since the onset of the pandemic. Applications will be accepted through March 11, 2024.

• 12/8/2023 DEEP Releases 2024-2029 Draft Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced that it is releasing a draft of its 2024-2029 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), which lays out a 5-year strategy to continue to build on Connecticut’s outdoor recreation landscape. The draft plan is available for public review and comment through December 15, 2023.

• 12/4/2023 DEEP Announces Free Swimming Lesson Program in Partnership with Connecticut Institute For Communities of Danbury

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Deputy Commissioner Mason Trumble joined local and state elected officials and the Connecticut Institute For Communities (CIFC) leaders at the Danbury Community Center (DCC) today to announce $128,000 to fund free swimming lessons to qualifying children. The partnership with the CIFC will enable children ages 17 and under to receive free swim lessons at the DCC pool.

• 12/1/2023 EnCon Police Make Arrest in Fatal Boating Accident

  (HARTFORD) — The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police arrested an individual in connection with the fatal boating accident that occurred on July 10, 2022, on the Connecticut River in Portland. An extensive investigation was conducted by EnCon officers and the department’s Boating Accident Reconstruction Unit (BARU) leading to the arrest.

• 11/22/2023 Celebrate the Winter Holidays at Two Connecticut State Park Museums - Visit Gillette Castle and Osborne Homestead Museum for Holiday Flair

  (HARTFORD) — The winter holiday season is upon us, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is celebrating with the festive transformation of two of its historic buildings: Gillette Castle in East Haddam and Osborne Homestead Museum in Derby. Enjoy the wonderous atmosphere created by special decorations that help set the tone for holiday cheer.

• 11/20/2023 DEEP Announces Opportunities to Reduce Air Pollution Through Clean Vehicles and Energy Storage Technology

• 11/13/2023 Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew Deploys to Fight North Carolina Wildfires

  (HARTFORD) — Three members of the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew (CIFC) mobilized early Sunday morning from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)’s Eastern District Headquarters in Marlborough to fight wildfires in North Carolina.

• 11/9/2023 DEEP Announces Firearms Deer Hunting Season Begins November 15

  (HARTFORD) — Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today issued a reminder that a variety of hunting seasons are currently underway or about to begin, most notably the opening of the fall firearms deer season on Wednesday, November 15. Specific deer hunting season information is available on the DEEP website at https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Hunting/2023-Connecticut-Hunting-and-Trapping-Guide/Deer-Hunting.

• 11/6/2023 DAS and DEEP Announce Infrastructure Improvements at Quinebaug Valley State Trout Hatchery

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Commissioner Michelle Gilman and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes today announced the completion of filtration and pump infrastructure improvements at the Quinebaug Valley State Trout Hatchery in Plainfield. The new improvements to the hatchery will save thousands of gallons of water daily, reduce the hatchery’s environmental impact, and reach the State of Connecticut closer to the goals set in Governor Lamont’s Executive Order 1 in reducing the state’s water consumption by 10% by 2030.

• 10/27/2023 Connecticut Releases Clean Energy Solicitations

  (HARTFORD, CT) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today released two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for new grid-scale zero carbon electricity resources. The proposals will help advance Governor Lamont’s Energy Action Plan to improve energy affordability and reliability for Connecticut ratepayers, and help achieve the state’s statutory mandates for a 100 percent zero carbon electric sector by 2040 and economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of at least 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050.

• 10/24/2023 Connecticut Celebrates Bat Week from Oct. 24-31

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) celebrates Bat Week starting on October 24, as part of an international conservation awareness effort focused on the week prior to Halloween.

• 10/23/2023 DEEP Announces 46 Recipients of 2023 Volunteer Fire Assistance VFA Grants

  (HARTFORD) — The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced that forty-six local volunteer fire departments are receiving 2023 Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Grants which will be used to train personnel and purchase equipment aimed at improving their firefighting capabilities. These funds are provided through a federal program to support fire departments in towns with a population of less than 10,000 people.

• 10/18/2023 State Environmental Conservation Police Arrest Griswold Man for Armed Robbery

  (HARTFORD) — On October 13, 2023, at approximately 2:00 p.m. the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) State Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police took Davontae Fontaine, 21, of 133 Mathewson Street, Griswold, into custody at Troop E in Montville on an arrest warrant. The warrant stems from a lengthy investigation that started on May 17, 2023.