Category: News

A roughly $38-million plan for a new United Illuminating substation in Shelton has been proposed by the power company, and construction could start in July if the proposal receives state approval.

The Connecticut Siting Council has scheduled public hearings on the application this Thursday, Jan. 17, at 3 p.m. and  7 p.m. at Shelton City Hall.

The substation would take up roughly two acres of a six-acre site at 14 Old Stratford Road. The six-acre property has Route 8 to the east, Pootatuck Place on its western side, and to the north, Far Mill River. Until the 1990s it was used by the Lord Corp. for the manufacture of O-rings and seals, according to UI.

Click here to read coverage in The Shelton Herald.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will hold a public session on Exide’s latest plans to remediate the lower Mill River Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, 785 Unquowa Road, Fairfield.

The plan by the battery maker that once operated on the Post Road is the result of 30 years of negotiations with the state and town on how to clean the site. Click here to download a town review of the proposal.

Nutmeg TU is concerned about the effects the cleanup could have on the river, its’ wildlife and its ongoing Mill River Improvement Project.

Exide proposes dredging the sediment from the bottom of the river. According to a review of the plan by Fairfield officials, that could stir up contaminants in the river.

The Exide plan also would not address contamination caused by a plating company still in operation on side of the Mill River opposite the former Exide site.

Ron Merly and Ross Ogden of Nutmeg TU have met with Fairfield conservation officials, and Merly told the board of directors Dec. 6 that the plans are “very vague.”

One current proposal, Merly said, would begin work during the annual Herring migration up the Mill River.

Nutmegtrout.org will be updated with coverage of the hearing.

Weston police arrested two Stamford men for stealing copper piping from a house and in the process causing an oil spill in the Saugatuck River, according to The Weston Forum.

Police told The Weston Forum that the Weston Fire Department received a call on Friday, Dec. 28, from a resident on Valley Forge Road who complained about the smell of “gas.” When the Fire Department arrived, firefighters saw two men loading copper pipes into a vehicle from a house across the street at 153 Valley Forge Road.

Police were called to the scene and found two men stealing items from the house, including copper piping.

“Investigators say 37-year-old Jose Morales and his brother, 42-year-old Mauro Morales, stole copper piping from a home at 153 Valley Forge Road, inadvertently contaminating the Saugatuck River after they accidentally severed an oil line,” according to a report at connecticut.news12.com.

The men had apparently cut copper pipes in the basement that led to a fuel oil line, causing oil to leak into a drain that went under the road and into the Saugatuck River, according to The Weston Forum. The fuel oil caused the smell the neighbor complained about.

Police called the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) for remediation and the oil was cleaned from the Saugatuck, the Forum reported.

“The Saugatuck River is known for its trout population, which experts say is among the healthiest in the country,” according to the News12 report.

José Morales and Mauro Morales were arrested at the scene and charged them with burglary, possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief, larceny in the third degree, conspiracy, and violation of water pollution control requirements. They have a Jan. 7 court date.

Donors have stepped up to keep alive a 43-year fishing tradition in Milford.

The annual Children’s Trout Derby faced extinction earlier this year because money was running short.

http://www.milfordmirror.com/2578/donations-come-through-to-save-annual-trout-derby