Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Emergency Burn Ban In Effect 10/26/24 - An emergency burn ban is now in effect for all Connecticut State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management areas, prohibiting the use of all outdoor grills, firepits, and campfires, and the kindling and use of flame outdoors. DEEP and local agencies are working to contain several active fires across the state. Please avoid all affected State Parks and Forests, as well as the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. The Enduro Trail in Voluntown and portions of North Stonington within the Pachaug State Forest are closed at this time. Please note that today's forest fire danger report remains at an 'extreme' level. More information about the current fire danger, burn ban and recommended safety measures can be found here

Guidance Revisions & Supporting Materials

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Connecticut Council on Soil and Water Conservation have collaborated to prepare the updates for the Connecticut Guidelines for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control and the Connecticut Stormwater Quality Manual. We will be sharing a more updates in the near future. These updates will be posted to this webpage and shared with the Water Quality List Serve.

The final revised versions of the Stormwater Quality Manual and the Guidelines for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control were posted at the respective links for a September 30th publication date.

Upcoming Webinars: 

February 27, 2024 12:00PM. We have our final webinar of the Stormwater Quality Manual Webinar Series coming soon: An Update on Stormwater Management in CT. Stormwater management and its impact on our water bodies and communities have received a lot of attention and support in recent years. With a revised MS4 permit in 2017, revised construction, commercial, and industrial stormwater permits,  and a new Stormwater Quality Manual going into effect in March, there has been a move to use lower impact approaches to stormwater management. This webinar will cover takeaways, challenges, and opportunities from this approach. What is working, what is a work in progress, and what is coming? Presented as a collaboration between CT DEEP and UConn CLEAR. Register Here. 

Past Webinars

Monday, January 22nd, 2024 1:00PM. The University of Connecticut's Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) teamed up with DEEP to help provide more information and insight into the LID process of the revised Manual. Materials available here.

Thursday, January 25th, 2024 10:00AM. DEEP hosted a virtual public listening session regarding proposed modifications to the general permit for the discharge of stormwater from small municipal separate storm sewer systems. Find more information on how to comment on the public notice. Materials to come.

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023 1:00PM. The University of Connecticut's Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) has teamed up with DEEP to help provide more information and insight into the revised Manual and what it means for you. A recording of this overview webinar can be viewed here.

February 22, 2023 2:00-3:30 PM. A informational webinar was held on to provide an overview of the drafted revisions and answer any questions in support of the public comment period. The meeting materials and recording are available below:   

Response to Comments

CT DEEP, The Council on Soil and Water Conservation and the Manuals Working Group would like to thank everyone who took time to review and contribute to this process. We are pleased to share that we collected over 110 comments. Thanks to your collaboration we have prepared the following Response to Comments. The drafts below will be maintained here for archival purposes only.

Content last updated February 21, 2024