News Releases - 2024

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• 9/25/2024 DEEP Seeks Input on Expanded DEEP Climate Resilience Funding and Loan Initiatives to Help Connecticut Communities Become More Climate Resilient

  (HARTFORD, CT) — Today, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced the strategic expansion of the successful DEEP Climate Resilience Fund (DCRF) program to better enable communities to access federal funding for climate resilience. This upcoming investment of state funds will help towns, Councils of Government, and other stakeholders pursue project planning, and in some cases construction, allowing them to tap into the billions of federal dollars available to improve local resilience. As Connecticut experiences mounting costs from severe weather events, securing federal funding for proactive climate resilience planning and investment is critical to getting more projects built and keeping communities safe. DEEP is seeking feedback on a new framework for the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund, including from municipalities, Councils of Government, tribes, electric distribution companies, academic partners, private entities, and non-profit organizations. DEEP made this new future grant round announcement as part of a tour of the Meriden Green resilience project, a 14-acre flood control project using nature-based solutions located in downtown Meriden. The announcement was part of the State’s Sustainability and Resiliency Week.

• 9/18/2024 DEEP Announces $485,000 in State Remediation Grants

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced the release of $485,000 in state grant dollars to support the assessment and remediation of blighted properties across four Connecticut municipalities, and announced the opening of the next round of funding under this program. The grants announced today, part of the first round of a new DEEP grant program, will fund projects spanning more than 133 acres of land, with the goal of revitalizing brownfield sites into public spaces and other beneficial uses.

• 9/19/2024 DEEP Urges Residents to Take Steps to Avoid Conflicts With Bears This Fall

  (HARTFORD, CT) —The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is strongly urging residents to follow best practices to reduce the likelihood of a conflict with a black bear this fall. So far, 2024 has featured a record high of 68 documented home entries by bears, as well as a bear that bit a resident in Cheshire in July. Conflicts with bears have tripled in recent years in Connecticut and bears have been observed in all of the state’s 169 cities and towns. Given the already high rate of human-bear conflicts in 2024, DEEP is urging residents to practice vigilance as we enter a time of year when bears are particularly active as they increase feeding ahead of the winter denning season.

• 9/17/2024 DEEP Launches Second Round of Electric Bike Voucher Program

  (HARTFORD) — Today, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that the second round of the State’s successful electric bicycle (eBike) voucher program will open for applications at 12 p.m. today, on September 17. This program offers residents an alternative clean transportation option, with increased incentives for low-to-moderate income individuals and those who live in environmental justice (EJ) communities. DEEP held an event in Bushnell Park in Hartford yesterday with local and state officials, and eBike advocates and retailers to celebrate the launch of the second round of the program.

• 9/13/2024 Fall Archery Deer and Turkey Seasons Open in September

  (HARTFORD, CT) - Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) reminds residents that the 2024 fall archery hunting season for deer on private land opens on Sunday, September 15, while the fall archery hunting seasons for deer on state land and turkey on state and private land open on Monday, September 16.

• 9/12/2024 Risk of Mosquito-borne Diseases Expands Across State, Residents Advised to Protect Themselves When Recreating Outdoors

  (HARTFORD)— The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) along with the Connecticut Mosquito Management Program is warning Connecticut residents that the risk of mosquito-borne diseases, mainly eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile virus (WNV), is still of concern.

• 9/9/2024 Bat Appreciation Day to Be Held at Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine on Sept. 15

  (HARTFORD)—Join the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Wildlife Division and the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) for a celebration of bat conservation at the Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby on Sunday, September 15, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This event helps raise awareness about the story of one of Connecticut’s most intriguing historical sites and its importance to the conservation of endangered species.

• 9/5/2024 DEEP Conducting Community Engagement to Promote Nearly $3M in Funding for Increased Urban Tree Cover

  (HARTFORD)- The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced today that starting this week, in partnership with UConn, DEEP is hosting a series of community and stakeholder workshops through November intended to increase access to historic funding opportunities for urban forestry.

• 9/3/2024 DEEP Requesting Applications for $15M in Available Materials Management Infrastructure Grant Funding

  (HARTFORD, CT) —The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to announce $15 million dollars in grant funds available to Connecticut municipalities, councils of government, and regional waste authorities to support the development of materials management infrastructure (MMI) at the local and regional level in direct response to the solid waste disposal crisis that Connecticut municipalities are facing.

• 8/30/2024 DEEP Urges Caution as State Park Lifeguard Presence Reduced on Labor Day Weekend

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today reminded State Park visitors that the number of lifeguards at State Park swimming areas will be reduced over Labor Day weekend, and that Monday, September 2nd, will be the last day for lifeguard coverage in the State Park swimming areas.

• 8/30/2024 Migratory Bird Hunting Seasons Starting Soon

  (HARTFORD)- Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced the dates for 2024-2025 migratory bird hunting seasons, which include seasons for ducks, geese, woodcock, snipe, rails, and crows.

• 8/28/2024 DEEP Mosquito Management Program to Spray for Mosquitoes in Mt. Misery Area of Pachaug State Forest

  (HARTFORD)— While there have been no cases of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEE) in humans in Connecticut so far this season, the risk-level in the eastern part of the state for EEE remains elevated. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Mosquito Management Program will conduct insecticide spraying on the evening of Thursday, August 29 (weather permitting) in an area of eastern Connecticut where mammal-biting mosquitoes carrying EEE have been consistently detected. This step is being taken out of an abundance of caution to minimize the potential for spread of the virus to humans.

• 8/21/2024 DEEP Reports Case of EEE in White-tailed Deer in Connecticut

  (HARTFORD)—The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced that a white-tailed deer that exhibited neurologic symptoms and died on August 12, 2024, in Lisbon, Connecticut, was infected with the eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus.

• 8/21/2024 DEEP Announces New Open Space and Urban Green Grant Round

  (HARTFORD) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) encourages municipalities, land trusts, and water companies to apply for funding to aid in the purchase and protection of open space through the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program (OSWA). In addition, DEEP welcomes municipalities and land trusts to apply for funding through the Urban Green and Community Garden Program (UGCG). Both programs are accepting applications now through December 2, 2024.

• 8/15/2024 DEEP Reissues Alcohol Ban for Seven State Recreation Areas

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has reissued a temporary alcohol ban for seven state recreation areas. This ban is in effect from Tuesday, August 13, 2024, through Sunday, November 10, 2024, at the following locations: