News Releases

Page 2 of 62

• 1/22/2025 DEEP Environmental Conservation Police Make Arrest in September 2, 2024 Fatal Boat Accident

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police arrested Clayton Hackling, 26, of Lyme, on January 22, 2025, in connection with the fatal boat accident that occurred at the mouth of the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook on September 2, 2024. EnCon officers conducted an extensive investigation with assistance from the New London State’s Attorney Office.

• 1/21/2025 DEEP Launches Matching Funds for Community Resilience Projects as Part of Its Climate Resilience Fund

  (HARTFORD, CT) —The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for a new matching funds grant program to support Connecticut communities pursuing funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program. DEEP's new matching grants program is a component of the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund, which helps communities to invest in projects needed to address vulnerabilities to extreme weather and reduce impacts to critical infrastructure.

• 1/17/2025 DEEP Reminds Connecticut Residents that New Incentive Levels for CHEAPR Program Began Jan 1 2025

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is reminding the public that incentive levels for the Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Vehicle Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) program changed on January 1, 2025. As prices for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) continue to decline and consumer interest in the CHEAPR program continues to grow, the new incentive levels will enable DEEP to continue to meet consumer demand for the standard CHEAPR rebate within available resources, while prioritizing higher incentive levels to improve EV affordability for low- and moderate-income residents in Connecticut.

• 1/16/2025 DEEP Launches 2025 Seasonal Staff Recruitment

  (HARTFORD) — Looking for a fun seasonal job this year? Apply to one of the hundreds of exciting seasonal opportunities at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)! These opportunities typically combine spending time outdoors, conserving and providing access to the state’s most beautiful natural areas, and serving as an introduction to potential careers at DEEP or other environmental fields. Compensation ranges from $16.35 to $20.00 per hour for most positions and starts at $20.00 per hour for lifeguards.

• 1/15/2025 DEEP Announces Request for Qualifications for Community Resource Hubs

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking proposals from qualified organizations to serve as DEEP Community Resource Hubs (Hubs) in environmental justice communities in Connecticut. The purpose of the Community Resource Hubs will be to better connect Connecticut residents in environmental justice communities, including economically distressed communities, with DEEP services and programs that can benefit residents and their communities.

• 1/9/2025 DEEP Announces over $1 million in Federal Grant Funds Available for Clean Vehicle and Marine Projects

  (HARTFORD)—The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has announced the availability of more than $1 million in federal funds for grants to local and state governments, as well as businesses and organizations who want to replace large, older diesel engines and equipment with electric vehicle equivalents or newer, cleaner-burning engines.

• 12/27/2024 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 the many volunteers from the State Park Friends' groups as Connecticut celebrates First Day Hikes, a nationwide initiative to get outdoors.

• 12/23/2024 DEEP and Connecticut Green Bank Announce Funding and Low-Interest Financing Available for Electric School Buses

  (HARTFORD)- The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Connecticut Green Bank (Green Bank) have announced the availability of a $46 million pool of state and federal funding to support the deployment of electric school buses (ESBs) and the associated charging infrastructure. Municipalities, school districts, and school bus transportation companies are eligible and encouraged to apply by January 7, 2025.

• 12/20/2024 Connecticut Announces Clean Energy Selections

  (HARTFORD, CT) - Today, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that it has selected new clean energy projects totaling 518 megawatts (MW) of new solar generation and 200 MW of new electric storage capacity through competitive solicitations conducted in 2024.

• 12/17/2024 DEEP EnCon Police Make Arrests Following Search of Wild Game Taxidermy Business

  (HARTFORD)--The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced today the arrest of two individuals related to an ongoing investigation of a wild game and deer processing facility in Beacon Falls.

• 12/5/2024 DEEP Releases New Book Celebrating 100 Years of Connecticut State Parks

  (HARTFORD)--The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced today the release of a new book, Connecticut State Parks: A Centennial History by Alan Levere, published by DEEP’s State Parks & Public Outreach Division. This book presents the history of Connecticut State Parks through the celebration of its first hundred years.

• 11/26/2024 DEEP Lifts Statewide Burn Ban on Public Lands It Administers

  (HARTFORD)- The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to announce that, effective immediately, the statewide burn ban for Connecticut’s State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management Areas has been lifted. This decision comes as recent precipitation has significantly improved conditions and lowered the forest fire danger level to LOW to MODERATE statewide over the past few days.

• 11/22/2024 DEEP Releases Second 20BY26 Progress Report

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Today, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) released its second report describing the work its teams pursued in the summer of 2024 toward the agency’s ambitious 20BY26 Initiative. 20BY26 launched in February 2024 and released its first progress report in August 2024. This initiative builds on the foundation of DEEP’s highly successful 20BY20 Initiative by setting 20 new targets to meet by the end of 2026 to make DEEP’s processes even more predictable, transparent, and efficient. The goal of these ongoing improvements is to keep striving for better and more innovative ways to serve our state’s municipalities, businesses, other regulated entities, and residents. 

• 11/15/2024 Celebrate the 2024 Winter Holidays at Two Connecticut State Park Museums

  (HARTFORD)--The winter holiday season is upon us, and the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) State Parks & Public Outreach Division plans to celebrate with the festive transformation of two of its historic homes: Gillette Castle in East Haddam and Osborne Homestead Museum in Derby.

• 11/14/2024 DEEP Announces Firearms Deer Hunting Season Begins November 20

  (HARTFORD, CT)- 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 20. Specific deer hunting season information is available on the DEEP 2024 Connecticut Hunting and Trapping Guide web page.