Environment Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: HJ-53
RESOLUTION PROPOSING THE ADOPTION OF THE LONG ISLAND SOUND
Title: BLUE PLAN.
Vote Date: 2/26/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable
PH Date: February 10, 2021
File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Rep. Joseph P. Gresko, 121st Dist.
Sen. Catherine A. Osten, 19th Dist.
REASONS FOR BILL:
Public Act 15-66 required the commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection to (1) develop an inventory of Long Island Sound's uses and natural resources,
and (2) develop a plan to preserve and protect the Sound. The Public Act also required the
commissioner to submit the plan to the Environment Committee and requires the
Environment Committee to (1) hold a public hearing on the plan forty days after the beginning
of the legislative session, and (2) to submit the plan to the General Assembly for approval or
disapproval forty days following a public hearing.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
Commissioner Katie S. Dykes, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Supports HJ53. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) renews their
submission of the Long Island Sound Blue Plan for the second year.
In accordance with Public Act 15-66, An Act Concerning a Long Island Sound Resource
Inventory and Blue Plan, the Blue Plan is a marine spatial planning initiative incorporating a
large amount of information based upon the ecology and human uses of Long Island Sound
to support water-dependent uses and the marine environment. DEEP, in partnership with
multiple stakeholders, provides all the same information to interested parties to "evaluate and
substantiate more and well-informed decisions" within the Blue Plan regulatory area.
Peter Hearn, Executive Director, Council on Environmental Quality
Supports HJ53. The Blue Plan provides a foundation for both the ecological sustainment of
business, recreation and marine habitats through planning, and information sources.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Peter J. Auster, PhD, Research Professor Emeritus, University of Connecticut
Department of Marine Services
Supports HJ53. Shared personal testimony as a marine ecologist. The Blue Plan provides
information as a "First Stop resource" to inform regulators and decision-makers about risk
management. While the Blue Plan is not a perfect plan, it provides information to make
informed decisions with a collaborative approach.
Lori Brown, Executive Director, Connecticut League of Conservation Voters
Supports HJ53. Connecticut has no authority to adequately plan for multiple future uses of
Long Island Sound without the Blue Plan. The Blue Plan incorporates the contribution of
2,000 individuals to develop a tool for the 50-mile area that generates billions annually for
local economies.
Alicea Charamut, Executive Director, Rivers Alliance
Supports HJ53. The Long Island Blue Plan was developed, through a rigorous stakeholder
and public process, to produce a resource and use inventory that will be essential in making
managerial decisions for one of Connecticut's most important ecological treasures.
Samantha Dynowski, State Director, Sierra Club Connecticut
Supports HJ53. The Blue plan is a resource for the public, regulators, and developers to
make good decisions about the Sound. This is a unique approach promotes discussion
between project proponents and stakeholders.
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Nathan Frohling, Director of External Affairs, The Nature Conservancy
Supports HJ53. There is insufficient information to support the needs of competing
stakeholders in Long Island Sound. The Blue Plan creates an informational tool, based on the
input from various stakeholders, to manage Long Island Sound at the local, state, and federal
levels.
Robert LaFrance, Director of Policy, Audubon Connecticut
Supports HJ53. Audubon Connecticut appreciates the inclusion of "Criterion 9: Birds" and
the examination of Seabird occurrence models in the Long Island Blue Plan. Audubon
Connecticut encourages future versions of the Blue Plan to include additional data to improve
seabird models and invites the advisory board and Environment Committee to look at the
Audubon Society's "Birds & Climate Visualizer."
Bill Lucey, Soundkeeper, Connecticut Fund for the Environment / Save the Sound
Supports HJ53. The Blue Pan is a "common sense approach" for the management of Long
Island Sound. This plan supports multiple uses of the Long Island Sound while protecting and
restoring fish and wildlife habitats. The Blue Plan serves as a "cooperative tool" for
transparency, conflict mitigation, and permit discussions for new and existing uses of Long
Island Sound.
Alicia M. Mozian, Conservation Director, Town of Westport
Supports HJ53. Shared personal testimony as a municipal representative to the Blue Plan
Advisory Committee. The Blue Plan represents a comprehensive effort to make the permit
process easier while balancing the human uses and ecology of Long Island Sound.
Testimony provides specific example of how the Blue Plan would have made the permitting
process easier for commercial shell fishermen in the early 2000s.
Christine Nelson, Director, Land Use Department, Town of Old Saybrook
Supports HJ53. The Blue Plan provides guidance to coastal municipalities with a significant
amount of information for facility planning, conservation, and development.
Stephen Plant, CT Cultured Oysters
Supports HJ53. The Long Island Sound Blue Plan " allowing for intelligent and proactive
management" of the Sound. The Long Island Sound Blue Plan protects significant ecological
areas, high use human areas and minimizes conflict between the ecology, human usage
areas and new projects.
The Environment Committee received approximately 30+ written testimonies in support of
HJ53, the Long Island Sound Blue Plan.
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NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
None
Reported by: Steve Smith Date: 3/11/21
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