The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut - Connecticut Chapter Recap of the 2008 General Assembly Session

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Connecticut Chapter Recap of the 2008 General Assembly Session

The overriding factor in the 2008 General Assembly session was the decision late in the session by the Democratic leadership and Governor Rell not to make any revisions to the second year of the current biennial budget. Several initiatives that the Chapter worked on depended upon changes being made to the next year’s budget.

Since Connecticut adopted a two-year budget in 1993, it has been biennial in name only, since extensive changes have always been made before the end of the first year to the next year’s spending and tax packages. This year, Governor Rell announced her proposed changes to the FY09 budget (for the fiscal year that starts July 1st) in February. In late March, the Appropriations and Finance Committees released their proposed changes. Just a few weeks later, however, reports on income tax and other revenue projections made clear that a previously projected modest state surplus for the year would instead be a modest deficit, inducing the “no action” decision by Rell and the Democrats.

Climate Change

The Conservancy is on the Steering Committee of an alliance that introduced Bill 5600, An Act Concerning Global Warming Solutions, one of the major environmental initiatives passed by the legislature. The Governor has announced she will sign the bill, which sets mandatory goals for the state to reduce carbon emissions to 10% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80% by 2050, and includes provisions directing state agencies to investigate and implement actions to achieve the caps.

The bill includes a provision, introduced by The Nature Conservancy, that directs the existing Governor's Steering Committee on Climate Change to establish a subcommittee, comprised of additional state agencies and outside experts, to assess the impacts of climate change on Connecticut's human infrastructure and natural communities, and to make recommendations for enabling our human and natural communities to adapt to the those impacts.

Connecticut will join 4 other states (California, New Jersey, Hawaii and Washington) that have established mandatory greenhouse gas emission caps, and 3 other states (Alaska, New York and Maryland) that have established state bodies to look at how to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of climate change on natural and human communities.

The emissions cap levels are in accord with the reductions that the Interplantetary Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), among others, have said are necessary globally if we are to have any chance of keeping carbon dioxide levels in the range of 450 parts per million (they're currently at about 380-390, up from about 260-280 pre-industrial). That 450 ppm level will create very serious impacts, but exceeding it will be catastrophic, according to many scientists.

The Face of Connecticut Campaign

The Face of Connecticut Campaign is an alliance of 60 organizations calling for an increase in the state’s annual investments in acquisition and stewardship of natural lands, farmland, and historic properties and restoration of urban lands, from recent levels of approximately $55 million per year to $100 million. With no new bond package for FY09, there will be no changes in authoirzed funding for bonded programs, including for the programs advanced by the campaign.

The legislature, with 97 co-sponsors, did pass Bill 5873 (public Act 08-174), which will establish a Face of Connecticut Steering Committee, of relevant state agencies and organizations to better coordinate the state’s investments in these critical priorities. The campaign’s website is at: faceofconnecticut.org.

Property Tax Exemptions for Land Trusts

An important provision, for which the Chapter coordinated the drafting of language, was amended into Bill 5873 (public Act 08-174) to address a recent Superior Court decision. The judge sided with the City of Bridgeport in denying a property tax exemption to the Aspetuck Land Trust because it failed to promote public access to an island it owns. The island is comprised completely of salt marsh, is almost completely submerged at high tide, and is preserved for its value to shore birds. The conservation community is very concerned that aggressive tax assessors could use the decision to require land trusts to not only open their lands to the public as the vast majority already do, but to also demonstrate for each property each year what they have done to actively promote public access.

The amendment to Bill 5873 will make it clear that other benefits of open space land, such as preserving wildlife habitat or scenic views, will render land trust land eligible for a property tax exemption.

DEP Funding

Many environmental organizations worked to support the recommendations of the Appropriations Committee, particularly Representatives Denise Merrill and Terry backer and Senators Toni Harp and Bob Duff, to direct $3 million in additional funds to the Department of Environmental Protection, to restore 50 of the staff positions that have been lost at the agency over the past two decades. This effort, however, was another that was lost due to the budget problems.

State Forest Certification

The Conservancy worked with the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association on Bill 5853 (Public Act 08-172), to provide better management of our State Forests. Yet another bill which was weakened considerably due to the lack of a new budget, the version of it that passed will potentially provide modestly more funding to the DEP’s Forestry Division and will require the DEP to pursue independent third-party certification of the timber harvested from State Forest lands. Certification programs, such as Smartwood, require forest managers to demonstrate that they are harvesting timber in accordance with very strict ecological standards.

Long Island Sound

The Chapter is a member of the Clean Water Investment Coalition, which last year was able to work with legislative leaders to increase, from $20 million to $90 million, annual bond funding for the state Clean Water Fund, which provides grants and loans to municipalities to upgrade sewage treatment facilities. Outdated facilities can result in excessive nitrogen and other pollutants being released into our streams and eventually Long Island Sound. Insufficient funding over the past few years created a serious backlog of critical projects, so the coalition had hoped to further increase the funding, but such an increase appears unlikely.

TNC also worked with other groups to request state bond funds to match $2.5 million appropriated this year by the US Congress for the new Long Island Sound Stewardship Act which will fund land acquisition and management projects at selected sites along the coast. The Connecticut legislature’s Finance Committee’s proposed bonding revisions for next year included $800,000 for the program, but that will not be enacted if a new bond package is not negotiated.

Riverfront Protection

The Conservancy supported Bill 362, which would have add a 100” buffer along rivers and streams to those lands regulated by local inland wetlands commissions. Vegetated buffers along streams are critical for protecting water quality and important wildlife habitat, and reducing flooding. The bill was not passed.

REGULATORY INITIATIVES

Often after legislation is passed, the relevant state agency must develop regulations – in a sense, the details of the law – to implement the new statute. The agency holds public hearings on its draft regulations and then submits the revised draft to the legislature’s Regulation Review Committee, which must determine whether to approve them. The Conservancy is closely watching the drafting of two sets of regulations.

Protecting Natural Water Flows in Rivers

Many scientists are increasingly concerned that diversions of water from streams for various human uses are leaving too little water for fish and other aquatic animals to survive. Many of our dams also greatly alter the patterns of stream flow during the year.

TNC’s Regional staff currently serves on two DEP advisory boards that are developing proposed regulations to implement the streamflow standards bill that was passed in 2005. These regulations will provide DEP the authority to work with dam operators and other large water users to see if they can alter their water release practices to more closely reflect natural seasonal flows. DEP hopes to hold public hearings on proposed regulations in mid-2008, and subsequently submit them to the legislature’s Regulations Review Committee for its approval. The Conservancy also worked with other advocates last year to secure $200,000 in funding to help DEP administer the program.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a proposed agreement between Connecticut and eight other Northeastern states to implement a cap and trade system to reduce carbon emissions from large power plants, in order to combat climate change. Conservancy scientists have identified climate change as one of the most critical threats facing natural ecosystems over the next few decades.

Last year’s energy bill contained a section which establishes a very strong RGGI program in Connecticut. The DEP has released its draft regulations to implement the law, and after review by the Attorney General, will submit them to the Regulations Committee this summer. The 10-state RGGI program intends to hold its first auctions of carbon allowances in September and December 2008.