With Permission
Long Island Sound contributes more than $5.5 million for the local economy. It is home to more than 120 species of finfish and countless varieties of birds and other animals. Between New York and Connecticut, the Sound’s coastline stretches more than 600 miles, according to a state report.
But this great natural resource has also been the scene of major environmental battles over the last decade, especially in Branford.
So it was it was fitting that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy came to Branford Monday morning to emphasize his support of legislation called a “Blue Plan,” which is designed to protect the future use of Long Island Sound waters and submerged lands in a number of different ways.
The Blue Plan directs the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and UConn to convene relevant state agencies, academic institutions, and stakeholders to compile an inventory of the natural resources and the human resources of the Long Island Sound, and to use that information to develop a plan to guide future uses of the Sound’s waters and submerged lands.
In proposing legislation for this session, the governor is seeking regional planning “in order to protect our vital coastline,” he said. He also wants the ability to map and zone the Sound, to find out exactly lies beneath its waters, man-made and otherwise.
Historical Precedents
State Rep. Lonnie Reed (D‑Branford) and State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr.’s wife, Dr. Kiki Kennedy know what some want to place beneath these waters. They, along with former Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and then First Selectman Unk DaRos, led the fight against Islander East, a natural gas pipeline seeking a home beneath Branford’s waters, near the Thimble Islands and other fragile near-shore areas. That was back in 2004.
Then came a major legal fight, led by Blumenthal, against Broadwater, a gigantic liquefied floating gas terminal that he said would be an easy target for terrorists. Blumenthal, now a U.S. Senator, along with Rep. Reed and scores of others, won that fight in 2009.
Legislation Needed Now
Now, six years later. Governor Malloy wants to take the next steps. In proposing legislation for this session, the Governor is seeking regional planning, with other states, “in order to protect our vital coastline,” he said. This year he wants to start soon, he told legislators. Last year’s legislative effort died in the waning days of the session as so many bills do.
Malloy told a group of pivotal environmental legislators and environmentalists at a news conference Monday that the surrounding states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island “have already developed similar plans for their coastline and waterways and have seen positive impact.” New York is working on a plan as well. He said that it is time for Connecticut to enact a plan that essentially maps and zones what lies beneath the sea.
Legislators Voice Views
Rep. Reed, (D‑Branford), the co-chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, said in a subsequent interview that what is needed is “a comprehensive, strategic plan that can change and grow. We have a map with pipes in it; we have a map with electrical drawings in it, we have a map with some of the new outcroppings, but we have never put it all together and created a data base that tells us where we are and what’s going on and how we should sort of govern what happens in the Sound.” She explained that coral outcroppings were now growing in the Sound, “and they have never been there before because the temperatures are changing,” for example.
With Permission
Standing with the governor and pictured (L‑R) are Rep. James Albis, Co-Chair, Environment; Rep. Reed, Commissioner Robert Klee, DEEP; Sen. Ted Kennedy, Jr., Co-Chair Environment; Senator Tony Hwang, one of many Republican legislators who support the bipartisan initiative to map and zone the sound.
Sen. Kennedy, who like Reed lives in Branford, was often at his wife’s side during the Islander East battle. He said, “Establishing a Blue Plan for Long Island Sound is vital to its preservation and the development of job-creating commercial entities along Connecticut’s coastline. Our shoreline’s natural resources will be catalogued and made available, all without spending any additional state dollars…”
The legislators, who came to the Owenego Inn as a blinding strong snowstorm enveloped the shoreline were some of the ones who fought against Islander East and Broadwater pipelines.
Reed said that after 10 years in the trenches on these issues, “common sense dictates that a comprehensive strategic plan is imperative if we are to wisely manage the many uses of Long Island Sound, be they related to recreation, commerce, energy, tourism, development or coastal resiliency… I am grateful to Governor Malloy for making passage of the LIS Blue Plan a priority for this legislative session.”
John Bloomquist, the owner of the Owenego, cares deeply about the Sound. Not only did he open up the Owenego for the day, he turned on the heat, lighted up the fire and shoveled the snow so that the participants could get into the Inn and out on the deck.
Peering at the Sound from the deck of the Owenego, the governor told the group why this legislation was vital.
State Rep. James Albis (D‑East Haven) said, “The Long Island Sound Blue Plan will allow us to gain a wealth of information about the body of water that we share with New York. It will serve as a virtual inventory of resources that the Sound provides.”
State Sen.Tony Hwang (R‑Fairfield) said “this Blue Plan will quite literally become the blue print that will guide Connecticut’s management of what is arguably one of our most important environmental assets – the Long Island Sound. I want to thank Governor Malloy for this undertaking and demonstrating the bold and necessary leadership that sends a powerful message that protecting our natural ecosystems is not only good public policy, it’s good for business.”
Nathan Frohling, director of coastal and marine initiatives for the Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, put it this way: “With a Blue Plan, Connecticut can assure new uses of the Sound are compatible with traditional values and resources.” He said it was far better to act now, absent a Broadwater crisis. The main thing, he said, was not to let Long Island Sound get left behind.
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