Governor Releases Comprehensive Energy Strategy

Governor Malloy recently unveiled a draft comprehensive energy strategy for Connecticut that will create jobs, give residents and businesses more choice about the fuels they use for heat and power, lower energy costs and better protect the environment and natural resources.  Key components of the plan include: making a lower-cost natural gas option available to more than 250,000 residents and 75% of businesses in the next seven years; and expanding efficiency programs to help residents and businesses reduce energy use.  The plan will also reexamine the state's Renewable Portfolio Standards - which currently calls for 20% renewable power by 2020 - with an eye toward both raising the required percentage and increasing the mix of renewable options.  Combined, the strategy is expected to generate at least 10,000 jobs. 

Connecticut's Energy Strategy, the first real blueprint for planning and shaping the state's energy future, was developed by DEEP to meet the requirements of landmark energy legislation, Public Act 11-80. The plan analyzes total energy needs - electricity, heating, power for manufacturing, and fuels for transportation - for residents and businesses going out to the year 2050.  The public is invited to submit written comments on the draft strategy on or before December 14, 2012. The full plan, the executive summary, the schedule for public meetings, and other related materials are available online.

Materials Management Transformation Update

Earlier this month, DEEP hosted the last of the sustainable materials management summits: Launching Innovation - Transforming Materials Management in Connecticut. The focus of this summit was to move from learning and ideas into action. Speakers at this event included (pictured in photo from left to right) Kristen Brown from Green Waste Solutions, Lynn Rubinstein from NERC, Jeri Weiss from U.S. EPA Region 1, Kerrin O'Brien from the Michigan Recycling Coalition, and David Hudson from Strategic Materials Inc. For materials from all three summits as well as from the preceding January 2012 Roundtable, please visit DEEP's Materials Management Summit Series webpage.

The Governor's Recycling Working Group continues to meet on a regular basis with the objective of analyzing and making recommendations on how the state can modernize its approach to recycling, reduce waste through improved materials management, and lower costs for municipalities, residents, and businesses. The working group is being led by the Governor's Office in partnership with DEEP and other state agencies. A final report outlining their recommendations is anticipated this December. Materials related to the working group's efforts can be found by visiting DEEP's Modernizing Recycling: A Governor's Working Group webpage.

Task Force Makes Recommendations about Roadside Trees

The State Vegetation Management Task Force has recommended steps the state, municipalities, utilities, and property owners can take to improve the resiliency of roadside trees and forests against future catastrophic weather events while ensuring the reliability of the state's power grid.  The Task Force was formed in April in response to Governor Malloy's Two Storm Panel, which had been convened to study the state's response to Tropical Storm Irene and the October 2011 snowstorm. Members of the Task Force believe that if municipalities and the state increase their investment in roadside forest management over time, Connecticut could reduce economic losses, enhance public safety, and have healthier trees along its roadsides. DEEP is currently reviewing the final report to decide what recommendations to pursue. The Final Report, including all recommendations, may be found on the Task Force webpage.

Measures in Place to Contain Destructive Emerald Ash Borer

The July edition of Your Environmental Connection reported on the discovery of the invasive, non-native emerald ash borer (EAB) in several Connecticut towns. The EAB is a small, green beetle that feeds strictly on ash trees, eventually killing them. Since the discovery, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) has placed a quarantine that regulates the movement of ash logs, ash materials, ash nursery stock, and hardwood firewood from within New Haven County to any area outside of that county. In addition, CAES is requiring that all who transport firewood abide by emergency regulations to limit the movement of infested or potentially infested ash wood into and within Connecticut. Both CAES and DEEP are asking that Connecticut's residents and visitors not move firewood out of Connecticut. You may be transporting harmful forest pests to other states unknowingly. Furthermore, other states have prohibited moving untreated firewood across their borders. When transporting firewood within Connecticut, a document stating the origin and destination must be with the transporter. A Self-Issued Firewood Transportation Certificate is required to comply with this regulation.  Any possible EAB sightings should be reported to either the State Entomologist at CAES, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Brownfields Grant Funding Available from EPA

The U.S. EPA has announced the availability of Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grants for projects from eligible entities, which include municipalities and planning agencies. This funding may be used to facilitate community involvement and to conduct research, training and technical assistance necessary to develop area-wide plans and implementation strategies to facilitate brownfields assessment, cleanup, and subsequent reuse. Expected results are as follows:

• Brownfields area-wide planning grant funding must be directed to specific areas affected by a single large catalyst site or multiple brownfield sites, such as a neighborhood, downtown district, city block or local commercial corridor;
• The grant funding will result in an area-wide plan, including implementation strategies, for the brownfields-affected area; and
• The brownfields area-wide plan will inform the assessment, cleanup and reuse of brownfields properties and promote area-wide revitalization.  

The proposal deadline is November 30, 2012. Grants will be funded up to $200,000 for a two year project period and EPA anticipates selecting approximately 20 projects through this competitive opportunity. Information on obtaining a Petroleum Eligibility Determination (if needed for an application) is available from DEEP's webpage.

Facility & Wastewater Treatment Modification Approvals

A new process line at a CT metal finishing facility

As a continuation of the agency's LEAN efforts, DEEP has developed a new streamlined approach to filing requests and getting approvals associated with facility and wastewater treatment system modifications required under Section 22a-430-3 (i) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. As a result of this process, DEEP is able to respond more quickly to business and municipal needs related to these modification requests. Additional guidance is also provided that clarifies what changes require approvals and outlines what information needs to be submitted. LEAN team members have been tracking improvements and have noted that the average processing time has decreased by around 70 % since implementation of the new measures. The details and forms needed for this process can be found on DEEP's Water Permitting webpage.

GHG Emissions & Fuel Efficiency Standards for Passenger Vehicles

The U.S. EPA and the National Highway Transit Safety Administration jointly issued final rules that adopt more stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) and fuel economy standards for model year (MY) 2017 through 2025 passenger vehicles. The new standards will increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by the 2025 model year (MY). In total, the EPA estimates the program will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs, reduce U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels and prevent the emissions of 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in MYs 2012-2025.

Together with Connecticut's clean car program, the new national standards will help achieve our air quality goals by making cleaner vehicles available. According to Connecticut's GHG Inventory, the transportation sector accounts for 43% of all fossil fuel related GHG emissions in Connecticut. The new GHG and fuel economy standards also benefit the economy by reducing the amount of money we spend on gasoline and begin the transformation of the nation's light duty vehicle fleet by increasing the supply of advanced technology vehicles available in the market.

Food Residual Generators Mapping Study Updated

DEEP, in conjunction with U.S. EPA Region 1, has updated its report, database, and map of large-scale food residual generators in the state. The webpage for this study features a spreadsheet containing over 3,300 industrial, commercial and institutional generators, an interactive map with layers and object tool, and a report explaining 

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This update is timely as Connecticut seeks to expand its organics recycling infrastructure relative to Public Act 11-217 which mandates phased-in participation in food residual recycling projects by certain businesses , and also as a result of the solid waste composition and characterization study which found that compostable organics comprised nearly one-third of the waste stream. For more information, contact  K.C. Alexander.

Connecticut Residents Solarize

Four Connecticut towns (Westport, Fairfield, Portland, and Durham) are participating in Solarize Connecticut, a pilot program designed to encourage more people in a community to install residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.  Solarize Connecticut, a joint program of the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority, The John Merck Fund, and SmartPower, combines coordinated town education, marketing and outreach efforts with a residential aggregation model designed to bring down the cost.  When more people in a community sign up to install solar PV, the price decreases for everyone who participates.  The program pre-selects the installer and technology and provides the exact price of the PV system upfront, making it much easier for residents to make the choice to go solar. The pilot is due to be completed at the end of 2012. A second round is anticipated to be announced later this month and will provide other Connecticut municipalities the opportunity to participate in the program.

Innovative Financing for Energy Efficiency Projects

Connecticut now has an innovative program to encourage energy efficiency projects for commercial, industrial and multifamily properties, known as Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, or C-PACE. The advantage of C-PACE is that it minimizes upfront costs for efficiency projects with long-term, low-interest financing repaid through an additional assessment on property tax bills. To participate, interested property owners must: 

• Be located in a  participating municipality. Municipalities must take steps to opt in to C-PACE before property owners can use this finance method.  The first two towns to opt in are Bridgeport and Norwalk. Connecticut's Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) is ready to assist cities and towns with this process.  Interested property owners should contact Jessica Bailey at CEFIA if their municipality is not on the list.
• Work with an approved energy professional (such as an auditor or contractor) to identify eligible projects. CEFIA will maintain a list of approved contractors. In general, improvements must be permanently affixed to the property and should either lower the building's energy consumption or create clean energy.
• Apply for financing via C-PACE's website. If approved, a lien will be placed on the property and financing will become available. Property owners repay the financing via local property tax bills over the course of 20 years.  

"No Action Assurance" Extended for Boilers 

U.S. EPA has extended the March 13, 2012 "No Action Assurance" to also apply to the deadline for submitting notifications for initial boiler tune-ups required by the final Area Source Boiler Rule. Originally, all owners and/or operators of existing industrial boilers and commercial and institutional boilers at area sources of hazardous air pollution had until July 19, 2012 to conduct an initial tune-up of the boilers and submit results to the EPA.  The EPA announcement amends the expiration date of the No Action Assurance so that it will run until either the final reconsideration of the Area Source Boiler Rule is issued and becomes effective or to December 31, 2012. 

EPA issued the "No Action Assurance" based on a concern that there may be shortages of qualified individuals to complete the required boiler tune ups in time to meet the compliance deadline.  A "No Action Assurance" could be interpreted as meaning that the EPA will use enforcement discretion and will not pursue enforcement action for area sources that failed to complete a tune-up by the compliance date of July 19, 2012. For more information about the extension of the No Action Assurance, go to the NAA Extension Memo.    

Coastal Jurisdiction Line Replaces High Tide Line for Permitting

As of October 1, 2012, the state's coastal permitting jurisdiction for dredging and the placement of structures and fill in tidal, coastal, or navigable waters was redefined from the high tide line to the Coastal Jurisdiction Line (CJL). The change was brought about by Public Act 12-101, which establishes the CJL and the methodology by which the CJL is calculated. The high tide line, the state's coastal jurisdictional

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limit since 1987, had been determined through analysis of field evidence including wrack lines and vegetation patterns. However, the reach of the high tide can fluctuate due to wind, waves, and storms, so it was difficult in some circumstances to pinpoint the location of the high tide line. Now the use of a fixed elevation is required, which can be derived by a surveyor in accordance with a specified methodology instead of relying on several methods of field-determining the jurisdictional line. 

Working collaboratively, DEEP and the Connecticut Association of Land Surveyors (CALS) have calculated CJL elevations for each coastal municipality and the three major tidal rivers using the heights of specific predicted tides. The specificity of the new CJL will allow applicants to design waterfront projects knowing precisely where the regulatory line falls on their property. For additional information:  CJL Fact Sheet and  CALS CJL calculation methodology report.

Reuse Marketplace Website to be Launched

DEEP, in partnership with the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), is launching a new free on-line materials reuse exchange.

Town Clerks and Tackle Shops Help DEEP Collect Fishing Data

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Connecticut's Marine Waters Fishing License (MWFL) is three years old, with 130,020 licenses issued in 2011 -10,000 more than in 2010. This large number of licenses forms a solid data source useful for managing Connecticut's marine resources. The goal is to gather accurate information about when and where people fish, what gears are used, what species are caught, and which are released.

As vendors of the licenses, town clerks and tackle shop owners are key players in the MWFL program. They guide the public through the license procedure and explain the reasons behind it. Success of the program requires: 1) valid phone numbers for each license holder so a random telephone survey can gather necessary catch data, and 2) a determination of how many who bought a combination fishing and hunting license actively fished in saltwater. Unfortunately, in the first two years of the program, nearly half of all phone numbers collected were invalid or missing. To correct this problem, DEEP will work with the license vendors to improve the accuracy of the data collection. For more information on the National Salt Water Angler Registry, go to NOAA's website. 

CT Company Awarded $1.4 Million for Hydrogen Fueling Research

Wallingford-based Proton Energy Systems (dba Proton OnSite) is a national  leader in the development of innovative hydrogen fueling infrastructure technology. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded Proton OnSite two grants totaling $1.4 million. These grants are part of DOE's  Fuel Cell Technologies Program designed to provide American businesses more opportunities to reduce energy costs and keep our energy dollars in Connecticut. Proton OnSite will use $400,000 to collect operational data from two of its stations that provide true zero-emission fueling by using solar energy to generate hydrogen on-site. An additional $1 million grant will deploy a high-pressure electrolyzer at an existing hydrogen fueling station, nearly doubling its dispensing capacity. Additionally, Proton OnSite, with SunHydro, is planning to establish a network of motor vehicle hydrogen fueling stations along the East Coast, before the anticipated release of fuel cell-powered cars to the general public in 2014.

The DOE grants complement DEEP's efforts to introduce clean vehicles, especially zero emission vehicles, into the state and to support Connecticut's robust fuel cell industry. FuelCell Energy  and UCONN's Center for Clean Energy Engineering are advancing this technology and, along with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, have developed a fuel cell strategy recommending deployment of twelve hydrogen fueling stations in the state by 2025.

DEEP Receives Bicycle Friendly Business Award

DEEP's Headquarters in Hartford recently received a Bike Friendly Business Award from the League of American Bicyclists, the nation's largest bicycling advocacy group. The award is for businesses or workplaces that promote a bicycle-friendly culture. DEEP won a bronze-level award based on its facilities and programs. Bicycle-friendly building improvements include bicycle racks in the on-site parking garage and onsite showers. The agency holds bike safety and bike repair classes and co-sponsors bike events, such as the Capitol Bike to Work Day and the Discover Hartford Bicycling Tour. DEEP joins almost 500 award winners nationwide, including local businesses, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

DEEP's Green Team applied for the award to inspire other agencies and businesses to become more bicycle friendly. It's part of the Green Team's outreach program to mentor other organizations to go green and start green teams of their own. To get started with a green team, contact the DEEP Green Team co-chairs Connie Mendolia, 860-424-3243 or Mary Sherwin, 860-424-3246. To get started bicycling, visit the Connecticut advocacy group Bike Walk CT.

Free Webinar on State Electronics Challenge

Learn about the State Electronics Challenge (SEC), a voluntary program that harnesses the purchasing power and resources of the public sector to change the way office equipment is designed, used and disposed of. Any state and local government agency, tribal government, school, college, university, or other public entity can be an SEC Partner. SEC Partners elect to buy green office equipment, use it efficiently, and recycle it responsibly. Partners enjoy cost savings, as well as tangible sustainability and environmental benefits-energy conservation, greenhouse gas avoidance, and reductions in solid and hazardous waste. Joining provides access to SEC support and implementation tools, technical assistance, and sustainability reports documenting material, energy and cost savings to support your sustainability goals. Partners also get recognition for their efforts through the SEC awards program.  Register for the November 7, 2012 webinar

CT Green LEAF Schools Program

Connecticut is launching a new program, Connecticut Green LEAF Schools, which has been created to promote green and healthy schools for all.  It is a collaborative effort of the Connecticut Departments of Education, Energy and Environmental Protection, Public Health, and Construction Services, as well as many environmental and educational organizations. The program has three goals:  1) to teach environmental and sustainability education; 2) to improve the health and wellness of students and staff; and 3) to reduce environmental impact and cost. Schools that participate will receive program support, resources and curriculum, professional development and learn best practices from school "mentors." More details on the program will be available shortly so please check back on the website.