State Rep. Lonnie Reed, (D‑Branford) celebrated the news Monday when both houses of the Connecticut General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to override Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s veto of a bill that would establish a Bi-State Long Island Sound Commission. In the Senate the bill re-passed by a vote of 31 – 5 and in the Assembly, by 105 to 37.
Before joining the Connecticut General Assembly this year, Rep. Reed was a statewide environmental leader who co-founded Hands Across Our Pond. That initiative helped bring Connecticut and New York together to oppose the Broadwater liquefied natural gas barge and 23 mile long pipeline proposed for Long Island Sound. As a former Representative Town Meeting member, she authored Connecticut’s first anti-Broadwater resolution that was approved by Branford and subsequently by cities and towns throughout Connecticut and New York.
“The legacy of Broadwater should be an ongoing relationship between the two states that address these issues in a real way .The Islander East battle separated our two states since we were on opposite sides of that issue. Broadwater brought us together. And the hope is that by putting together this Commission, we will have an ongoing Bi-State structure — a formal place that can study and know about what this region really needs in terms of energy supplies and what all of the options are.
‘We should come away from Broadwater harvesting the relationships we created and making something good come of it,” Reed said in an interview. “Instead of these energy projects popping up one at a time out of blue, we need to lay out our options. This commission is the place to go to, a place where everybody is equally represented.”
The commission will reflect appointments by the governors of the two states, the houses of the two states, the senates of the two states and others. Those appointed are envisioned as understanding the needs of both regions and being prepared to act on projects put forth for the Sound.
Reed moved behind the scenes to obtain bipartisan support in the Assembly to override the governor’s veto. She said she was disappointed that the governor vetoed the New York-Connecticut Commission which had had overwhelming support in both houses.
The governor said she vetoed the bill because it duplicated an already existing bi-state committee.
But that committee, Reed said, had never met. The powers of the commission, which will have seven members from New York and seven from Connecticut, will enable it react to energy, environmental and economic issues that confront Long Island Sound. .
A first-term legislator, Reed was a key figure in stopping Islander East and then Broadwater in putting a gigantic liquified natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound, off Branford’s waters. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Dr. Kiki Kennedy, a Branford resident, led the fight against Islander East. So Did First Selectman Unk DaRos. Blumenthal said the Broadwater terminal was an easy target for terrorists.He took both Islander East and Broadwater to court.
State Sen. Ed Meyer (D‑Guilford) a strong Broadwater opponent, said: “For people living on the shoreline of Connecticut, Long Island Sound is our most significant quality of life issue… This bill brings Connecticut and New York together to deal with Long Island Sound issues of environment, ecology and energy. It’s a good bill for the shoreline, the state, and for our future generations. “
Reed said that a number of New York legislators expected a similar bill to eventually be adopted by the New York legislature. It will look just like Connecticut’s new law, Reed said.
But given the paralysis now facing the New York state legislature, it is not clear when New York’s bill will emerge for a vote. There was a brief moment when it appeared the bill might get to the floor, Reed said, but then the senators literally got locked out of the chamber.
“We have time. The reality is that even if it is not voted into being on the New York side, there is a sense that this is the way we proceed,” Reed said.
“I got a lot of calls from New York when Gov. Rell vetoed it. People were upset. And I said, ‘No, wait. We will surprise you.’”
Yesterday, they did.
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