Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice

RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCREASE ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE CONNECTICUT RESOURCES RECOVERY AUTHORITY

1. The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority has a special responsibility to the governments and communities where their facilities are located (host communities).

· There should be a Community Advisory Board for each CRRA trash-to-energy project to advise CRRA on the operations of all CRRA facilities in those project communities. Each project advisory board shall consist of at least two members from the host community of each multi-town facility within that project, and three (3) at large members appointed by the council of governments. Each advisory board shall meet at least quarterly, and shall be provided with, at a minimum, the same information as the Board of Directors.

2. CRRA facilities currently hire few local residents, even though many of the jobs at those facilities do not require advanced education.

· CRRA and its contractors shall give hiring preferences for each of their facilities to residents from the community that hosts the facility. Hiring preference shall include jobs at all levels.

3. As a quasi-public agency, CRRA is exempt from many local governmental regulations, although when accidents occur, local government has to provide municipal services, such as police and fire.

· To minimize such risks, and to help coordinate municipal response, all CRRA facilities should be subject to local health, fire, building, zoning, and safety regulations.

· CRRA shall notify host communities of any changes in operations, as these may also impact the host community.

4. The communities that host regional facilities for CRRA not only provide any police, fire, or other emergency response that is needed for accidents that occur at their facilities, but they must also pay to maintain the capacity to respond, even if there are no emergencies. In addition, when pollution is released from these facilities, the host community is the most likely to have people who are affected by the release. Therefore:

· Host communities shall receive a percentage of tipping fees sufficient to cover actual costs to the community as well as enough to cover the health risks for people living within a five mile radius of the facilities. This health risk assessment should be funded by CRRA and conducted by the CT Dept. of Health every five years. The host community payment structure should be designed to encourage the safest possible operation and lowest amount of pollution from the facilities.

5. Currently, CRRA’s position is that the City of Hartford is responsible for the millions of dollars in expenses needed for post-closure maintenance of the landfill that CRRA operates in Hartford which now contains wastes from over 100 towns in four states. This is simply not fair.

· CRRA shall be responsible for closure and post-closure expenses for any CRRA facility.

6. Residents of host communities must be aware of the balance needed between the benefits of having waste disposal and the risks therein.

· Residents from communities that host CRRA facilities should constitute the majority of the CRRA Board of Directors; also, a majority, that is nine members of the Board of Directors should be needed for a quorum.

7. Currently, the contract between CRRA and the City of Hartford, which was signed in 1982, has no expiration date. The contract continues until CRRA says that the Hartford landfills are full, or until CRRA’s bonds are paid up. This requirement does not encourage CRRA or Hartford to review and update the provisions of the contract to allow for changes that have occurred over the last twenty years.

· No CRRA contracts should be for periods greater than five years and all current contracts with greater than five year terms should expire by December 31, 2003.