Judge dismisses lawsuit, allowing DEEP to rule on pipeline project
A Connecticut judge on Thursday allowed the state’s
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to continue its review of
a controversial
gas expansion project in Brookfield, while leaving the door open for
opponents to appeal the agency’s final decision.
The decision by New Britain Superior Court Judge Matthew
Budzik dismissed a lawsuit brought by town officials and the
environmental group Save the Sound earlier this year. That lawsuit objected to
a decision by DEEP that denied the groups’ efforts to intervene against a
proposed expansion of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System.
The project involves the addition of two gas-fired
compressors to an existing compressor station in Brookfield, which would allow
Iroquois to push an additional 125 million cubic feet of gas each day through
its regional pipeline to New York City. Pipeline officials say that some of
that gas may also be delivered locally in Connecticut.
The $272 million project has already received approval from
regulators in New York and Washington, D.C. The final step in the approval
process is DEEP’s consideration of air quality permits for the two new
compressors. Last summer, the agency issued draft permits indicating its tentative support
for the project.
Since then, a coalition of environmental activists and local
opponents have pushed
back against the project, urging DEEP to reject the expansion. Among the
concerns that have been raised by critics are the potential for increased air
pollution and the compressor station’s proximity to a local middle school.
In January, the town of Brookfield and Save the Sound filed
their lawsuit alleging the agency failed to hold a proper hearing for members
of the public to raise concerns about the project.
While DEEP agreed to hold an informational public meeting on
the Iroquois project on Jan. 8, the agency rejected the request for a more
robust adjudicatory hearing, citing issues with both the town’s and Save the
Sound’s applications. Without such a hearing, opponents said they would be left
without means to appeal the agency’s final decision.
In his decision on Wednesday, however, Budzik disagreed with
that reasoning, saying the law gives both groups an opportunity to appeal
should DEEP decide to approve the project. Until then, he ruled that efforts to
stop DEEP from rendering its final decision were premature.
A spokesperson for DEEP did not immediately comment on the
ruling Thursday, saying staff were reviewing the decision.
In a statement, Iroquois spokesperson Ruth Parkins said “we
are very pleased with the Court’s decision. At this time, the matter still
resides with the DEEP hearing officer and we anticipate a final decision will
be forthcoming from the DEEP shortly.”
Representatives with the town of Brookfield and Save the
Sound were not immediately available for comment.
A final decision on the project from DEEP is expected
sometime this month, once the agency finishes reviewing and responding to the
hundreds of comments it received from the public.
Construction set for water main replacements
Brian M. Johnson
SOUTHINGTON — Construction is set to begin at the end of
this month for water main replacements on Berlin Street and Lacey Road.
Superintendent of Water Works Douglas Arndt said the
construction project began last fall and is expected to resume March 30,
concluding in late May. But there is a chance it could continue longer.
Ludlow Construction Co., Inc. is doing the work. Work hours
will be between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.
“We understand that construction work can be disruptive and
that many of you have already experienced noise, traffic changes and temporary
inconveniences during earlier phases of this project,” he said. “We truly
appreciate your patience and cooperation as this important infrastructure
improvement moves forward.”
Arndt said the $2.5 million project will include $300,000
from the water department to cover repaving costs. The water department is
operated separately from the town. The remaining $2.2 million will come from
the state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
The construction work scheduled to take place includes:
The replacement of water service lines along Berlin Street
and Lacey Road
The installation of new water main on Berlin Street and
Lacey Road
Connecting the new water main on Berlin Street to the
existing water mains on side streets throughout the project area.
“We will be updating old pipe and service connections, many
of which are more than 80 years old,” Arndt said.
Ludlow Construction Co. will continue using the open space
area at Berkley Court for storage of materials and equipment for the project.
“The area will be restored to its original condition once
the project is complete,” Arndt said. “Apologies for any inconvenience this may
cause.”
Officials look for funding for other projects after Groton seawall grant application denied
Kimberly Drelich
Groton — Officials are looking for ways to fund the city's
other projects after the state did not approve a partial reimbursement of money
the city has spent on cost overruns for the Shore Avenue Seawall replacement
project.
Jim Watson, spokesperson for the state Department of
Economic and Community Development, confirmed Groton’s application for funding
was not recommended for a state Community Investment Fund grant.
The grants are intended to "foster economic development
in historically underserved communities across the state," according to CIF's
website.
City Mayor Jill Rusk said the city requested $3 million for
the reconstruction and upgrade of the seawall. The town had applied on behalf
of the city.
She said the city will continue to seek state and federal
funding and grant options for other capital improvement program projects, which
in turn will help offset the money spent on the seawall.
Groton had previously applied for a $9.8 million CIF grant
for the seawall project, but did not receive the funding last fall.
Rusk said the city overall has spent approximately $14
million on the seawall project. Of that, $9.8 million was out of the city's
capital improvement funds, and the remainder was $1.4 million from American
Rescue Plan Act funding and $2.7 million from a state Department of Energy and
Environmental Project grant.
She said the project should be completed in the spring.
Former City Mayor Keith Hedrick has said the project had
needed to be redesigned and faced
cost increases, as the bedrock conditions were not what was anticipated.
He has said the city undertook the project to replace
and strengthen the seawall, which is a retaining wall holding up the road.
The tide was undermining the seawall and causing erosion.
There were concerns that if the seawall failed, "it
could result in a catastrophic failure of the roadway, including potential
environmental contamination due to the existence of sanitary sewer lines along
the roadway," according to a town document. If the sewer lines broke, raw
sewage could enter Long Island Sound, he said.
State Sen. Heather Somers, R-18th District, said in a
statement that when there was emergency need, she was able to secure $2.7
million for the seawall reconstruction.
“Since then the project has ballooned in cost and scope, in
part due to unforeseen disruptions in the construction process," she said.
"I will continue to advocate for potential avenues of funding going
forward.”
State Rep. Aundré Bumgardner, D-41st District, said the
governor's office has made it clear that CIF grants are not to be utilized for
project reimbursement. But he said there are no shortage of other capital
projects in the city that he thinks are worthy of funding in the future.
His focus now is to work with Rusk to identify other
projects to submit for grant funding, not only through CIF but also through
Urban Act bond requests.
He said he's committed to working with Rusk, the city
administration and Groton Utilities to identify a project they can push up to
the state level, because, without that, the seawall project will hinder the
city's ability to complete other much-needed capital projects in the near
future.
Eastern CT town votes down controversial Costco mega-warehouses plan. It targeted farmland.
Despite months of negotiations with local officials, Costco
was turned down for a key zone change it needed to build
a pair of 1.1 million-square-foot warehouses in Plainfield and
Canterbury.
By a 3-2 vote, Plainfield’s planning and zoning commission
rejected the retail giant’s request to rezone more than 200 acres of farmland
and fields for industrial use.
The vote was a win for residents who wanted to preserve
local agriculture and slow the spread of distribution centers, but a loss for
those who supported the prospect of new jobs and tax revenue.
The commission’s vote doesn’t automatically kill the Costco
project, but at the very least is a hard setback after the company appeared to
be making inroads against local opposition.
Commissioners
in February approved some minor zoning amendments that benefitted the
Costco plan, and neighborhood opposition appeared to soften during the winter.
Costco first proposed building a New England distribution
center last summer, eying more than 400 acres of fields and woodlands that
straddle the Plainfield and Canterbury border near I-395. But in recent months,
the opposition seemed to recede a bit as Costco planners offered concessions
about traffic patterns and overnight tractor trailer parking.
“We had been meeting with them multiple times over the initial planning of the project, and then working on ways to minimize the traffic impact and get overflow parking for trucks,” First Selectman Kevin Cunningham told The Courant on Thursday.
“They said they’d build a pad that could accommodate 1,250
trucks,” he said. “They were listening to our concerns.”
It’s too early to know if Tuesday’s decision means the
proposal is abandoned altogether.
“I’ve reached out to the first selectman of Canterbury but
he hasn’t heard anything from Costco; we don’t know what their plans are,”
Cunningham said.
The simplest and most direct truck route between I-395 and
the Costco site’s Canterbury section was through the Plainfield acreage, so
it’s unclear whether Costco could proceed without at least some of the
Plainfield property.
The three zoning commissioners who voted “no” all said that
the farmland involved shouldn’t be used for industrial development. But that
vote included two alternate members standing in for regular commissioners, so
if Costco returns with a slightly amended plan it could face a different
commission.
When Costco’s plan became public in September, social media
debates went back and forth on whether it would amount to a net loss or gain
for Plainfield.
“I think I speak for lots of people when I say we’d rather
have more family friendly businesses in town to generate tax revenue,” Craig
Savage wrote in a Facebook post.
“Plainfield won’t be a retail hub like Lisbon without a huge
increase in population, if at all. Some retail will come in as the mills get
redeveloped into mixed use retail/residential. High-paying jobs won’t come in
unless they’re warehouses,” Melissa Ferman replied.
Cunningham said the new 1.25 million-square-foot
distribution center opening in Plainfield in June is expected to generate $1.6
million to $1.8 million in new tax monies, and he’d expect the Costco facility
would be near that range.
Costco had said it would open with more than 100 new jobs
and add employment from there. Uline is expected to eventually employ more than
400 people, and Cunningham said some of those positions would start at $65,000
a year or higher.
“And Uline is fantastic about donations to help our
community,” he added.
Amazon’s roughly 200,000-square-foot “last mile” delivery
center has about 100 employees between managers, schedulers, mechanics,
logistics planners, janitors and others, he said. In addition, several hundred
trucks operate from the facility.