News Releases - 2024

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• 5/22/2024 Governor Lamont Announces Summer Tourism Season Kicks off at State Parks, Beaches, and Cultural Attractions

  (MILFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today visited Silver Sands State Park in Milford – one of Connecticut’s 110 state parks and 32 state forests – where he held an event to kick off the summer tourism season and encourage the state’s residents and visitors to consider the many outdoor recreation opportunities Connecticut has to offer.

• 5/21/2024 Share the Shore with Nesting Birds

  (HARTFORD) — As the summer beach season approaches, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) reminds beachgoers and others recreating on the shoreline to share the shore with nesting birds.

• 5/20/2024 DEEP Announces More Than $980,000 in Grants for Marine Sewage Disposal Facilities for the 2024 Boating Season

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced today that 30 marine pumpout facilities will receive $980,982 in funding for the 2024 boating season under DEEP’s annual Federal Clean Vessel Act (CVA) program. This program is an effort to improve water quality in Connecticut’s navigable waterways by providing federally funded matching grants for qualifying projects that provide boat sewage disposal facilities, more commonly known as pumpouts.

• 5/16/2024 DEEP Encourages Boating Safety for National Safe Boating Week

  (HARTFORD) — The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) joins boating safety partners across the country in celebrating National Safe Boating Week from May 18-24, which serves to remind all boaters of the importance of boating safety skills and to prepare for the boating season. This observance week is the annual kick-off of the Safe Boating Campaign, a global awareness effort that encourages responsible boating.

• 5/15/2024 DEEP Pilots Parking Reservations System at Squantz Pond State Park as Part of Implementation of New State Law

  (HARTFORD) — Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to announce that it is piloting a new online reservation system to improve the visitor experience and park management on summer weekends and holidays at Squantz Pond State Park in New Fairfield.

• 5/15/2024 DEEP Re-imposes Alcohol Ban for Seven Recreation Areas

  (HARTFORD) — The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has imposed a temporary alcohol ban for seven state recreation areas. This ban is in effect from Wednesday, May 15, through Monday, August 12, at the following locations:

• 5/14/2024 DEEP Environmental Conservation Police Celebrate Graduation of the 2024 Ranger Academy

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) celebrated the graduation ceremony for the 2024 Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police Ranger graduating class last week. Fifteen recruits successfully completed a 120-hour training academy to become EnCon Rangers. An additional 10 Rangers will return to the field from previous years.

• 5/8/2024 DEEP Announces the No Child Left Inside® Families in the Parks Program 2024

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that registration for its 2024 No Child Left Inside® (NCLI) Families in the Parks Program is now open at: Connecticut No Child Left Inside

• 5/3/2024 DEEP Kellogg Environmental Center Artist Exhibition

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that beginning May 7th through June 14th, Connecticut artist Marsha Borden will showcase her exhibit “The Tides They Are A-Changin’: Harmful Algal Blooms of Long Island Sound” at the Kellogg Environmental Center at Osbornedale State Park in Derby, Connecticut.

• 4/29/2024 Public Safety Announcement: Illegal ATV Operation on Larkin Bridle Trail

  (HARTFORD) — The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police are working with a number of New Haven County police departments in an effort to deter illegal off-road vehicle use on the Larkin State Park Trail, a 10.3-mile trail through four towns.

• 4/26/2024 DEEP Announces Recipients of Fourth Annual Round of Grants for Aquatic Invasive Species Control

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced the recipients of the fourth round of grant funding through the Aquatic Invasive Species Grant Program, with a total of $545,000 going to 13 projects to reduce impacts of aquatic invasive species on inland waters in Connecticut.

• 4/26/2024 DEEP Celebrates Arbor Day in Communities Across Connecticut

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) joins communities across the state on April 26th and throughout the month of April to celebrate Arbor Day.

• 4/25/2024 State's Latest Climate Report Card Shows Need to Accelerate Emissions Reductions to Meet 2030 Target

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”) published its latest Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) Emissions Inventory, the most comprehensive accounting of the state’s air pollution that contributes to climate change. In tracking progress toward the state’s statutory GHG emissions reduction targets, the report’s preliminary data shows that emissions increased in 2022 for a second consecutive year.

• 4/22/2024 Governor Lamont, Congressional Delegation Announce Connecticut Selected To Receive $62.5 Million for Solar Projects Benefitting Low-Income Residents

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and the members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation today announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) with a $62.5 million grant under its Solar for All initiative.

• 4/19/2024 DEEP Environmental Conservation Police Make Arrests in Alleged Railroad Tracks Theft Case

  (HARTFORD) — The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police arrested two individuals on April 9 in connection with the theft of railroad tracks from Connecticut Valley Railroad State Park in Old Saybrook. EnCon officers conducted an extensive investigation with assistance from the Valley Railroad Company.