News Releases - 2019

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• 8/16/2019 Pachaug State Forest Campgrounds Closed

  Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is closing two of its campgrounds in Pachaug State Forest because the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus was detected in human-biting mosquitoes trapped in the area by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES).

• 8/19/2019 DEEP Releases Offshore Wind RFP

  The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) on Friday released a request for proposals (RFP) for offshore wind power as required under Public Act 19-71, An Act Concerning the Procurement of Energy Derived from Offshore Wind. This request for proposals seeks up to 2,000 MW of offshore wind.

• 8/23/2019 Plans Finalized for Mosquito Spraying in Pachaug State Forest

  The State of Connecticut Mosquito Management Program will be spraying for mosquito control in areas of the Pachaug State Forest considered to be at high risk for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus and West Nile virus (WNV).

• 8/21/2019 West Nile Virus Expanding Throughout Connecticut - Positive Mosquitoes found in 14 Towns

  The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) has now identified West Nile virus (WNV) infected mosquitoes in 14 Connecticut towns throughout the state.

• 8/29/2019 Bat Appreciation Day at Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine

  Join Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Wildlife Division biologists and Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) staff for a celebration of bat conservation at the Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine.

• 6/27/2019 Fourth-of-July Weekend Beachgoers Asked to “Fish, Swim, and Play from 50 Yards Away” of Bird Nesting Areas

  Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is asking the public to help protect birds that nest in coastal areas by staying at least 50 yards away from places where large concentrations of birds are gathered and avoiding areas that are roped off or marked with signs designating nesting locations.

• 6/19/2019 Governor Lamont and DEEP Commissioner Dykes Statements on Trump Administration’s Actions to Replace the Clean Power Plan

  Governor Ned Lamont and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes today released the following statements regarding the Trump administration’s actions to replace the Clean Power Plan:

• 6/13/2019 Governor Lamont Announces Sleeping Giant State Park to Reopen to the Public on Friday, June 14

  Governor Ned Lamont and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes today announced that Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden will reopen to the public beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, June 14.

• 6/13/2019 DEEP Commissioner Launches 18-Month Push for Greater Efficiency in Permitting, Regulatory Processes

  Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes today presented state business leaders and environmental professionals with a set of short-term high-impact agency goals aimed at providing greater predictability, efficiency, and transparency for environmental permitting and regulatory processes.

• 10/1/2019 Connecticut Interagency PFAS Task Force Releases Draft PFAS Action Plan for Public Comment

  Commissioner Katie S. Dykes of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and Commissioner Renée Coleman-Mitchell of the Department of Public Health (DPH), co-chairs of the Connecticut Interagency PFAS Task Force, announce the release today of the Task Force’s Draft PFAS Action Plan.

• 10/17/2019 DPH Continues Fish Consumption Advisory on Lower Farmington River Downstream from Rainbow Dam Based on Validated Data from the June 8 AFFF Spill

  The Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) have received validated test results of fish tissue samples taken in July from the lower Farmington River that confirm the presence of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) at levels higher than considered safe for human consumption.

• 10/4/2019 DEEP Announces Opening Days of Upcoming Fall Firearms Hunting Seasons

  Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has announced the opening days of turkey and small game hunting seasons.

• 10/7/2019 Governor’s Greenways Council Presents its 4th CT Trails Symposium

  The Governor’s Greenways Council, in partnership with Goodwin College, is hosting the fourth Connecticut Trails Symposium for local officials, property owners, managers and volunteers on Thursday, Oct. 24 at the college’s East Hartford Campus.

• 10/7/2019 First Progress Report and Last Four Goals of the 20BY20 Initiative Unveiled

  Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) released the first quarterly report of the 20BY20 initiative, a set of 20 short-term high-impact agency goals aimed at providing greater predictability, efficiency, and transparency for environmental permitting and regulatory processes to be achieved by the end of 2020.

• 10/16/2019 Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Issues Draft Electric Vehicle Roadmap for Connecticut

  Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has issued an ambitious strategy for deploying electric vehicles in Connecticut.