Connecticut Coalition
for Environmental Justice

Connecticut's Environmental Justice Law

Link to full text of CT's new EJ law, an Act Concerning Environmental Justice Communities and Storage of Asbestos-Containing Materials

In May 2008, Connecticut passed its first ever environmental justice law. The law recognizes 25 low income towns (called distressed municipalities) and low income neighborhoods in 34 other Connecticut towns as environmental justice communities. If certain types of major polluting facilities are proposed in these neighborhoods, the applicant for a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection or the Siting Council would be required to do two things before building or expanding one of these facilities:

-- They would be required to get approval for an enhanced public outreach plan, to include a public meeting to explain what is being proposed at least 60 days before the agency makes its decision, and

-- They would negotiate with the chief elected official and the environmental justice community about environmental benefits to offset some of the proposed environmental hazards. These optional benefits may include funding for environmental education, diesel reduction, walking or biking trails, or urban forestry.

There was also an amendment put on by Stratford republicans that would limit storage of asbestos containing material next to residences.

The types of new or expanded facilities that would be regulated in environmental justice communities include:

1. electric generating facilities with capacities of more than 10 megawatts;

2. sludge and solid waste incinerators or combustors;

3. sewage treatment plants with a capacity over 50 million gallons per day;

4. three types of solid waste facilities (intermediate processing centers, volume reduction facilities, and multi-town recycling facilities) with a combined monthly volume in excess of 25 tons;

5. new or expanded landfills, including those that contain ash, construction, and demolition debris or solid waste;

6. medical waste incinerators; and

7. major sources of pollution under the Clean Air Act (e.g., large factories).

The Connecticut legislature approved the environmental justice law (HB 5145) after five years of effort by CCEJ. Due to the hard work of Representative Jack Hennessy and our partners, the law passed by a vote of 139 to 9 in the House after 90 minutes of debate and unanimously in the Senate with no debate—only 2 days before adjournment. CT Governor Jodi Rell signed the bill shortly thereafter.

Please see the map below that identifies communities that represent environmental justice and economically distressed communities:

Affected Towns:

1. Ansonia	16. Groton	31. Norwich	46. Torrington
2. Ashford	17. Hamden	32. Plainfield	47. Vernon
3. Bloomfield	18. Hartford	33. Plainville	48. Wallingford
4. Bridgeport	19. Killingly	34. Plymouth	49. Waterbury
5. Bristol	20. Manchester	35. Putnam	50. Waterford
6. Brooklyn	21. Mansfield	36. Salisbury	51. West Hartford
7. Danbury	22. Meriden	37. Shelton	52. West Haven
8. Derby	23. Middletown	38. Southbury	53. Westbrook
9. East Hartford	24. Naugatuck	39. Southington	54. Wethersfield
10. East Haven	25. New Britain	40. Sprague	55. Willington
11. East Windsor	26. New Haven	41. Stafford	56. Winchester
12. Enfield	27. New London	42. Stamford	57. Windham
13. Fairfield	28. North Canaan	43. Stonington	58. Windsor
14. Greenwich	29. North Haven	44. Stratford	59. Windsor Locks
15. Griswold	30. Norwalk	45. Thompson

Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
P.O. Box 2022, 10 Jefferson St, Hartford, CT 06145-2022
Ph: 860-548-1133 Fax:860-548-9197
email: ccej@environmental-justice.org www.environmental-justice.org