News Releases - 2024

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• 10/24/2024 Connecticut Celebrates Bat Week from Oct. 24-31

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is celebrating the importance of bats during Bat Week, an international event celebrated annually during the week before Halloween. Bats play a critical role in ecosystems worldwide and provide tremendous value to humans in a variety of ways. Bats in North America also currently face an unprecedented population crisis, making it even more important to call attention to these often-misunderstood creatures.

• 10/24/2024 DEEP Provides Update on Wildfire Response

  (Hartford, CT) - The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), along with many local fire departments, and state and out-of-state resources, continues to respond to several wildfires across the state, including in Berlin, Canaan, Vernon, and Weston.

• 10/23/2024 Governor Lamont Announces $30 Million Investment for Infrastructure Improvements at State Parks

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, chairman of the State Bond Commission, today announced that the commission voted at its meeting this morning to approve an allocation of $30 million that will be used for infrastructure repairs and refurbishment needed across the Connecticut State Parks system, including $3 million that will be used to make critical repairs at state parks impacted by the extreme flash flooding event Connecticut experienced on August 18, 2024.

• 10/22/2024 DEEP Soft Launching All-Terrain Wheelchairs at Five Connecticut State Parks and Forests to Increase Access to the Outdoors

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to offer Connecticut State Parks and Forest visitors the ability to reserve all-terrain wheelchairs at five State Park and Forest locations through the remainder of the fall hiking season. DEEP will be using the soft launch to gain valuable feedback from users which will help inform the deployment of these wheelchairs in the spring, for the full duration of the 2025 recreation season.

• 10/21/2024 DEEP Seeks Comment on Draft Proposal for DEEP Community Resource Hubs

  (HARTFORD) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today released a draft Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and a notice of an opportunity for public comment on its proposal to partner, through multi-year contracts, with qualified organizations to serve as Community Resource Hubs in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities across the state, whether urban or rural. The draft RFQ outlines a new initiative aimed at enhancing DEEP’s outreach, facilitating community engagement in program design, and improving access to beneficial environmental and energy programs and services. This initiative is part of DEEP’s ongoing effort to ensure equitable access to environmental and energy programs, grants, and services, particularly in communities historically overburdened by environmental challenges.

• 10/18/2024 DEEP Requests Proposals for Grants for Aquatic Invasive Species Control on Lakes Ponds and Rivers

  (HARTFORD, CT) –The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is now accepting proposals for the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Grant Program for 2025. Applications will be accepted through December 6, 2024. Please visit the DEEP AIS Grant Program website for details on how to apply for 2025 grants.

• 10/11/2024 Governor Lamont Announces $28 Million To Increase Broadband Access in 88 Towns and Cities

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes today announced the release of $28 million in grants awarded under the first round of the state’s ConneCTed Communities Grant Program.

• 10/10/2024 DEEP and DECD Remind Residents of Opportunity to Provide Comment on Proposed Release-based Regulations

  (HARTFORD)—Today the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) are reminding the public that DEEP is accepting comments on the proposed Release Based Cleanup Regulations through October 24, 2024. These modernized regulations will remove barriers to cleaning pollution and return more polluted sites to productive use. This new, improved, process will replace the outdated Transfer Act with a practical system that relies on market-driven investigations to discover and clean up pollution.

• 10/9/2024 DEEP and CFPA Highlight Fall Hiking Opportunities, Offer Tips for Safe Fall Hiking

  (HARTFORD) — Ahead of the long holiday weekend, Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA) invite residents and visitors to enjoy this year’s vibrant Fall foliage from the many vantage points offered by DEEP’s State Forests, Parks, Greenways, and CFPA’s Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails.

• 10/4/2024 DEEP Announces Opening Days of Fall Turkey, Pheasant, and Small Game Hunting Seasons

  (HARTFORD) — Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has announced the Opening Days of the following fall hunting seasons:

• 10/2/2024 Connecticut Greenways Council Presents the 6th CT Trails Symposium

  (Hartford)--The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the legislatively appointed Connecticut Greenways Council, in partnership with Manchester Community College are hosting the sixth annual Connecticut Trails Symposium for local, state, and regional officials, property owners, managers, and volunteers on October 4, 2024.

• 9/30/2024 DEEP To Host Public Workshop October 17 on Passive Park Concept for Seaside State Park

  (HARTFORD)--The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will host a public workshop to inform the design of the Passive Park Concept for Seaside State Park in Waterford. The public workshop will be held in the Auditorium at the Waterford Town Hall on Thursday, October 17, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This workshop is the culmination of a public outreach initiative to inform the Passive Park Concept, which has included various stakeholder meetings and a public survey. After the public workshop, the architectural engineering firm DEEP contracted for the project will use the information and ideas gathered through the outreach and planning process to prepare a design for the Passive Park Concept at Seaside State Park.

• 9/27/2024 Gov Lamont Announces Protection of 1364 Acres of Watershed Lands in Winchester

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, along with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Housatonic Valley Association, today announced the successful protection of 1,364 acres of watershed lands in the Town of Winchester.

• 9/27/2024 DEEP Celebrates Forestry Day at Goodwin Conservation Education Center on September 28th

  (HARTFORD) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announces its No Child Left Inside ® (NCLI) program comes to the Goodwin Conservation Education Center in Hampton on Saturday, September 28, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM with free activities for all. In collaboration with the Friends of Goodwin Forest, DEEP State Parks and Forestry Divisions, and other partners, NCLI invites families and adults to enjoy the day in the great outdoors with many fun and engaging activities.

• 9/26/2024 Celebrate Hunting and Fishing Day

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont has proclaimed Saturday, September 28, 2024, “Hunting and Fishing Day in the State of Connecticut” to coincide with National Hunting and Fishing Day; and to celebrate, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) invites you to celebrate at Black Rock State Park on Saturday, September 28, 2024, with a fun-filled, daylong event at Black Rock State Park, 2065 Thomaston Road, Watertown, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.