Bridgeport flooding project in limbo as officials wait for formal notification of Trump cuts
BRIDGEPORT — A month after the federal government announced
it is eliminating
a grant program needed to fund a years-in-the-making South End anti-flooding
project, state officials overseeing that massive infrastructure effort
are still awaiting further details.
"We have not received any formal cancellation
memorandum or documentation," Graham Stevens, head of Connecticut's Bureau
of Water Protection and Land Reuse, said in an interview Thursday. "As far
as we know, we haven't actually received anything formal from the federal
government other than the news release."
"We've asked for additional information. We've asked
for guidance on how we can proceed here," said Kenneth Dumais, hazard
mitigation officer with the state's emergency management department, who joined
Stevens in speaking with The Connecticut Post. "We are in a 'sit and wait'
mode right now."
He added, "To the best of my knowledge we do not have a
method of appeal at this point. No appeal method has been identified."
In response to the water damage Superstorm Sandy wrought on
the coastal South End over 12 years ago, the Resilient Bridgeport
infrastructure initiative was launched with an initial $40 million in federal
aid, and was set to receive an additional $47.5 million. That latter amount is
the money currently in jeopardy.
The extensive plan, which officials say is some 90 percent
designed, calls for installation of a storm water pump station, flood walls and
street elevations to protect lives and property, and also enable revitalization
of the diverse, lower-income neighborhood. The area includes old industrial
sites, electrical infrastructure, homes and apartment buildings, the University
of Bridgeport's campus and a major attraction in Seaside Park.
Stevens confirmed that without Resilient Bridgeport in
place, developers have a difficult time securing any state subsidies unless
they include costly flood mitigation and evacuation measures in their
individual designs.
"The idea is the state wants to invest its funding
in places where people will be safe," Stevens said.
Though deemed a priority, the Resilient Bridgeport planning
process, which has involved the state departments of housing,
energy/environmental protection and emergency management, has
been slow while costs have risen. In response, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes,
D-4th District, a year ago helped
secure a $47.5 million grant from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and
Communities (BRIC) program to supplement that original $40 million.
BRIC is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Then, on April 4, President Donald Trump's administration
abruptly announced
the cancellation of BRIC via a FEMA press release that criticized the
program as "wasteful" and "politicized." No evidence of
such was offered, nor did FEMA outline whether its staff had first performed a
thorough cost-benefit analysis to analyze Resilient Bridgeport or any other BRIC
awardees nationwide.
However, part of Resilient Bridgeport's stated mission was a
response to the perils of climate change. Trump
has previously called human-caused climate change a "hoax."
Himes' office Thursday forwarded an April 15 letter he and
several colleagues sent the Trump administration, which notes it was during
Trump's first tenure in the White House that Congress established BRIC "to
invest in pre-disaster mitigation and strengthen community resiliency to
respond to natural disasters that are increasing in frequency and
severity."
The letter goes on to call BRIC's cancellation
"unlawful," and asks for a specific list of impacted projects.
"We have yet to receive a response," said a Himes'
staffer.
Rather than provide insight into any additional
communications to be disseminated following the April 4 press release, a
FEMA spokesperson contacted for this article responded that BRIC "was more
concerned with political agendas than helping Americas affected by natural
disasters" but again provided no specifics.
Stevens said were the $47.5 million available, there are
still major steps to be taken before breaking ground on Resilient Bridgeport.
For example, some of the infrastructure will be installed on private property.
"We'd have to work with all the affected property
owners to ensure we have the legal rights in place to build," he said.
"Then we'd need to prepare bid documents and go out to bid (for
contractors)."
The loss of the $47.5 million might also possibly jeopardize
what remains of the initial $40 million awarded Resilient Bridgeport. Stevens
said roughly $9 million of that earlier amount of federal assistance has
so far been drawn down during the design process. And while on the face of it
that leaves a $30 million or so balance to start to construct some of Resilient
Bridgeport, Stevens indicated that may not be an option.
"The federal government would not authorize the state
to move forward with half-measures because those wouldn't be able to protect
the community in a way the more comprehensive project was designed to do,"
he said.
"Maybe there is a way to make some of (Resilient
Bridgeport) work, but right now that's a hope," Dumais said. "We
don't have any solid information at this point."
Dan Onofrio, president of the Bridgeport Regional Business
Council, has been frustrated with the slow pace of Resilient Bridgeport. But he
also believes it is necessary and should be completed.
"From a business perspective, an economic development
perspective, 100 percent there needs to be a way to address the (flooding)
issue and Resilient Bridgeport was that conduit," he said. "I don't
like the approach that this (Trump) administration has had with just doing
broad-stroke, killing things off without doing at least a little due diligence.
... There's a clear, visible issue we have in Bridgeport and we need to come up
with a way to resolve it."
CT joins 19-state effort against Trump opposition to offshore wind energy
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined 18 other
attorneys general in a
lawsuit filed Monday that seeks to prevent continuing efforts by the
Trump administration to block the development of offshore
wind energy.
Trump has moved to shut down renewable energy, particularly
offshore wind, as expensive and unreliable, while supporting expansion of
fossil fuel development. On his first day in office, Trump signed an
executive order temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and
pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for all wind projects.
Since then he has blocked projects off New York and New Jersey.
“This is yet another lawless effort by Donald Trump to
enrich the fossil fuel industry and illegally micromanage state business.
Connecticut has the right to secure our energy future, and one that makes the
most sense for our costs and climate,” Tong said Monday after the federal suit
was filed in Boston.
New England’s power industry supports offshore energy
development and opposes administration efforts to block it.
“Large-scale offshore wind development is hardwired into
electric reliability planning for New England,” said Dan Dolan, president of
the New England Power Generators Association.
“I am hopeful that the projects under construction and committed in the market
will come online soon to deliver reliability benefits for the region.”
“Every energy source has its challenges, be they cost,
emissions, land-use, scale, or technological,” he said. “Without offshore wind,
New England’s energy choices narrow significantly over the next decade with
difficult future choices as electricity demand continues to rise.”
The video player is currently playing an ad.
Late last year, Gov. Ned Lamont shocked neighboring states
when he decided to
step away from a three-state, offshore energy buy as too expensive. He
said Connecticut would concentrate its decarbonization efforts, at least over
the short term, in solar and energy storage projects.
The decision left Connecticut with one offshore wind
contract — an agreement to buy power, with Rhode Island, from Revolution Wind,
which is under construction south of Block Island by Danish multinational
Orsted. The project will provide 304 megawatts of energy to Connecticut and 400
megawatts to Rhode Island, enough energy to power more than 350,000 homes in
both states.
Orsted, a major player in offshore wind, was a substantial
investor in the $300 million reconstruction of the state
pier in New London, which was redesigned as a support hub for offshore
construction.
The attorneys general allege in their suit the Trump
executive order hurts state efforts to secure reliable, diversified, and
affordable sources of energy to meet their increasing demand for electricity
and help reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, meet clean energy goals,
and address climate change.
The administration’s opposition to wind also threatens
significant investment already made in wind industry infrastructure, supply
chains, and workforce development — investments the state’s claim are already
in the billions of dollars.
In filing this lawsuit, the attorneys general are asking the
court to declare the president’s directive illegal and prevent the
administration from taking any action to delay or prevent wind energy
development.
Trump’s hostility to offshore wind has exacerbated serious
financial problems that predated his election by more than a year. Supply chain
and interest rate problems caused delays, steep price hikes and led to project
failures.
Department of Transportation is latest federal agency expecting layoffs
Kris van Cleave Grahm Kates
Employees at the Department of Transportation are bracing
for layoffs, as part of the Trump administration's effort to cut the federal workforce.
During a town hall meeting last week, Transportation
Secretary Sean Duffy informed DOT employees that the layoffs —
referred to as reduction in force, or RIF — are expected soon, DOT officials
confirm to CBS News.
An employee attending the town hall said Duffy did not offer
specifics about which agencies or employees would be affected. The Department
of Transportation said the final number of cuts would depend on how many
employees first take a buyout offer.
The cuts could happen as soon as the end of the month.
The buyout offer, referred to as a deferred resignation
program, allows workers to receive pay and benefits for several months if they
agree to resign. Multiple federal agencies have made large-scale buyout offers
as part of President Trump's effort to dramatically scale back the size of the
federal government.
Duffy has promised the DOT's workforce cuts won't affect
airline safety. Duffy became Transportation Secretary amid two high-profile
airline crashes, including a midair collision in January over the Potomac River in
Washington that left 67 dead.
On May 1, Duffy announced plans to boost air traffic
controller recruiting. The announcement came as Newark Liberty International
Airport, one of the country's largest and busiest hubs, experienced an onslaught of delays and canceled flights.
Blaming staffing shortages, equipment malfunctions and
system outages, the DOT's Federal Aviation Administration issued several ground
delays and ground stops at the New Jersey airport.
Arriving flights at the airport, located near New York City,
have been delayed as long as six hours, while departures faced nearly four-hour
delays. The FAA and the union representing air traffic controllers said Tuesday
that multiple
members are on trauma leave due to the equipment failure that caused
them to lose communication with pilots.
Plan to build 110-room hotel, 250 apartments on site of old Fairfield hotel gets approved
Alarge-scale proposal to demolish
an 80-room hotel in Fairfield and replace it with a 110-room hotel and
a 250-unit apartment building has been approved.
Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners in December
proposed razing the Circle Hotel Fairfield, at 441 Post Road, and constructing
the two massive, four-story structures on the 8-acre site.
The hotel will contain 59,148 square feet of space, while
the apartment building will house 256,568 square feet, according to an
application filed with the town. Of the 250 apartments, 12% will be deemed
affordable.
The proposal includes building a 473-space parking garage
and 65 parking spaces from the Circle Diner, which will remain at its current
location adjacent to the site.
The apartment building will have 36 studios averaging 560
square feet; 150, one-bedroom units averaging 785 square feet; and 64,
two-bedroom units averaging 1,176 square feet, the application said.
Plans also call for a “robust landscape plan” that would
include over 280 trees, 430 shrubs, and many hundred more perennials and
grasses, the application stated.
The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the plan
with a 5-2 vote on Tuesday night.