More Calls & Emails Needed: River Buffers

- By Margaret Miner, CTLCV Director and Executive Director of Rivers Alliance

SB 832, An Act Concerning the Protection of Certain Natural Vegetation Near Rivers, is coming to a vote in the Planning and Development Committee on this Monday, April 18. The bill will protect vegetation alongside rivers and streams. It needs your help to stay alive. This is the year we might succeed.

The meeting is at 3 p.m., so Monday morning would not be too late to call.

The goal of the advocates (Rivers Alliance, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and others) is bring the bill out of committee so we can continue to work on it. The language at the moment is not ideal, but our aim is to strengthen protection for vegetation alongside streams and rivers. There are various ways this could be done, but one good approach would be to have a rebuttable presumption that natural vegetation within 100 feet of the river is protective of water quality. There is strong science for this presumption. So it is prudent to require anyone planning cutting along a river bank to prove that this will not degrade the adjacent water.

Similar buffer protection exists in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, but the effort has been strongly opposed in Connecticut by the Homebuilders Association. This year, the bill proposed by advocates includes language protecting property-owners rights to build. Our message is that we are not against building (especially in an energy-efficient manner). We just want to keep the high-impact activity away from the water. We believe that keeping water clean and healthy will be good for the state's economy, especially for property values.

The Planning and Development Committee will need persuading. They have killed more than one river buffer bill. The most important people to reach are the committee leaders.

• Sen. Steve Cassano, co-chair 800-846-1420 or cassano@senatedems.ct.gov. He represents Bolton, Manchester and Marlborough.
• Rep. Linda Gentile, co-chair 800-842-8267 or Linda.Gentile@cga.ct.gov. She represents Ansonia and
  Derby.
• Sen. Eric Coleman, vice chair (former chair) 800-846-1420 or coleman@senatedems.ct.gov. His district includes parts of Bloomfield, Hartford, and Windsor.
• Rep. Auden Grogins, vice chair 800-842-8267 or Auden.Grogins@cga.ct.gov. She represents Bridgeport (which given the flooding, should appreciate the role that buffers play in soaking up storm water).
• Sen. Len Fasano, ranking 800-842-1421 or Len.Fasano@cga.ct.gov. Thank him for helping to keep negotiations going. His district includes North Haven, East Haven, and Wallingford. He's important.
• Rep. Bill Aman, ranking 800-842-1423 or Bill.Aman@cga.ct.gov. He represents South Windsor, where the website reflects local pride in water resources, but he doesn’t have a history of being particularly supportive of protections.

The other members of the P&D Committee are listed below.   If you are a constituent, they will at least listen.

• Rep. Vincent Candelora: Vincent.Candelora@housegop.ct.gov
• Rep. Christopher Davis: christopher.davis@housegop.ct.gov
• Rep. Mae M. Flexer: Mae.Flexer@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Mary G. Fritz: Mary.Fritz@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Linda M. Gentile: Linda.Gentile@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Noreen S. Kokoruda Noreen.Kokoruda@housegop.ct.gov
• Rep. Roland J. Lemar: roland.lemar@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Elaine C. O'Brien: Elaine.OBrien@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Jason Perillo: jason.perillo@housegop.ct.gov
• Rep. Lonnie Reed: Lonnie.Reed@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Tom Reynolds Tom.Reynolds@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Matthew Ritter: Matthew.Ritter@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Jason Rojas: Jason.Rojas@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Kim Rose: Kim.Rose@cga.ct.gov
• Rep. Bill Simanski bill.simanski@housegop.ct.gov
• Rep. Richard A. Smith: richard.smith@housegop.ct.gov

For questions or more information, please contact Margaret Miner, Rivers Alliance of Connecticut at 860-361-9349 or rivers@riversalliance.org.