Written by NutmegTrout21726Jun, 2013

UConn replies to Farmington River petition

The University of Connecticut has responded to a petition opposed to its plan to draw water from the Farmington River, which Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups opposed.

Moveon.org shared the reply Wednesday, June 26.

Dear Voice of the Farmington River,

Judging from the email updates we have received on the number of petition signers, it’s clear to us at UConn that the interest in our proposed alternatives for a new source of water supply is still very strong.  Thank you for your continued interest, and I would like to provide you with an update on our work, especially for those who have signed the petition since my previous posting.

As you know, our Environmental Impact Evaluation concluded that each of three possible interconnections with existing water supply systems, those of MDC, Connecticut Water, and Windham Water, were considered viable in terms of their feasibility and the ways by which their respective environmental impacts could be mitigated.

With respect to the petition’s expressed concern for the possible transfer of water from the reservoirs along the Farmington River, we received numerous similar public comments on the EIE. Many of the commenters questioned the EIE’s thoroughness in addressing social and economic considerations for this as well as the other alternatives. To that end, we have formally reached out to each of the potential water suppliers for additional information that will help us address those questions. I’m pleased to report that these efforts have been useful in furthering our assessment.  There’s more on the timing of our response to the EIE comments below.

We also received several comments during the EIE public comment period suggesting that UConn locate the UConn Technology Park away from the Storrs Campus. The proximity of the Technology Park to the Main campus – where graduate and undergraduate students study and reside and faculty teach, research and advise – offers a location best suited to support both our academic mission and economic development. The UConn Technology Park, supported by the enactment of legislation in 2011, advances the University’s role as a top-tier academic and research institution and its pursuit of the fulfillment of its Academic Plan. By offering proximity and access to advanced technology, specialized equipment, faculty expertise, and graduate students, research and technology parks are typically located adjacent to universities’ core science, technology, engineering and math facilities in order to support the creation of partnerships with industry. For these reasons, the Tech Park has been sited
at UConn’s main campus in Storrs. In addition, the North Campus area has been the subject of several previous environmental impact reports, similar to that undertaken for potential sources of water supply, which envisioned this type of use. You can find these reports on the UConn Office of Environmental Policy’s website at http://www.envpolicy.uconn.edu/eie.html (scroll down the website below the water EIE information).

Our work continues on preparing the EIE’s corresponding Record of Decision, the official document that will formally address the issues identified in the comments. This document will require our UConn Board of Trustees endorsement prior to its formal submission to the CT Office of Policy and Management for their review and approval. At this point, we expect the Record of Decision to be presented to the Board of Trustees at their scheduled August 7th meeting. Please check the UConn Office of Environmental Policy’s website (http://www.envpolicy.uconn.edu/eie.html) for updates on the EIE and Record of Decision.

And, as mentioned in my last posting, your patience is very much appreciated.

Jason Coite
UCONN Environmental Compliance Professional
jason.coite@uconn.edu

Bob Campbell and Mike Rowinsky with the sign that lets passers-by know who's cleaning up the side of the Mill River along Congress Street.
Written by NutmegTrout21725Jun, 2013

Help remove knotweed, have a hot dog with friends Saturday

Bob Campbell and Mike Rowinsky with the sign that lets passers-by know who's cleaning up the side of the Mill River along Congress Street.

To help gather manpower for another major push against the knotweed choking the side of the Mill River, Nutmeg TU will hold a cutting day on Saturday, June 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. along Congress Street.

If you can attend and pitch in for any part of that span, stop by and relieve stress by chopping down an invasive that threatens native species and the flow of the river itself.

We’ll have some food and beverages so members can catch up with each other, telling fish tales and exchanging ideas about this and other projects or group outings Nutmeg can take part in.

If you have not done so yet, drive down Congress Street and see how much progress on removing knotweed small groups have made. Then come out and join the party on June 29.

If you can spare just an hour, it will make a difference. Please RSVP by posting a comment on the events calendar on the website so we know how many hot dogs to buy.

Phil Jacques shows just how tall and dense knotweed can grow if left unchecked. (John Kovach Photo)
Written by NutmegTrout21712Jun, 2013

Sign up to help restore habitat

Knotweed growing in the water in the Mill River along Congress Street. (John Kovach Photo)

Volunteers from Nutmeg TU, and their supporters, will return to the banks of the Mill River along Congress Street in Fairfield Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16, to continue to hack away at Japanese knotweed that is overwhelming that natural habitat for native plants and beginning to threaten the river itself (see above).

Phil Jacques shows just how tall and dense knotweed can grow if left unchecked. (John Kovach Photo)Working in pairs, a handful of members and a conservationist have cut down the weed, which can approach 10 feet in height, the first two weekends in June. Other than a large bank on a steep slope that will require more help, the tandems have cut down much of the knotweed from the bridge where the Mill River winds under Congress Street to the eastern edge of the Mobil station on the southbound Merritt Parkway.

Thanks to Mike Abramowitz, Phil Jacques and Gian-Andrea Morresi of Nutmeg TU, and Mike Rowinsky, who organized the recent Rooster River cleanup, for pitching in.

Volunteers are needed for morning and afternoon sessions this weekend.

To sign up, go to “Events” under “Get Involved” at nutmegtrout.org. In the June calendar there are 2 sessions listed for each weekend day in June.

Click on any session you wish to sign up for. The event window will open, and below the listing you will see “Leave a reply.” Enter your name and email address in the fields marked with an asterisk, then type “John Doe can attend for the entire session” or “John Doe is available from 9 to 11 a.m.” in the window marked comment. Include a cell phone number where you can be reached if there is a schedule change.

Click “Post Comment” to complete the process. THAT’S IT!!

Please sign up for any and all sessions when you may be able to help by clicking on that particular morning or afternoon session. The process must be repeated for each session you can attend.

Also indicate the maximum number of sessions you can attend so we do not overbook you.

Thanks for your help with the crucial conservation project

Mike Abramowitz attacks Japanese knotweed some 7 to 8 feet tall Saturday, June 1, 2013. The towering stalks are now only inches tall, but must be cut again to keep the invasive plant from reestablishing itself.
Written by NutmegTrout21703Jun, 2013

Knotweed removal begins along Mill River

Mike Abramowitz attacks Japanese knotweed some 7 to 8 feet tall Saturday, June 1.

Nutmeg TU members took to the woods over the past week to begin the removal of invasive Japanese Knotweed from land between Congress Street and the Mill River.

Tuesday, President Charles Petruccelli and Vice President Bob Campbell ventured in to make the initial cuts and determine the scope of the project.

Saturday Mike Abramowitz answered the call for volunteers and join John Kovach. The two cut down most of the largest bank of knotweed closest to where the river passes under Congress Street.

Sunday Campbell and Kovach bagged much of the cuttings during a 3-hour period. Some remains to be bagged, but 14 42-gallon bags of knotweed await pickup by the Town of Fairfield.

Written by NutmegTrout21730May, 2013

We need you to help fight invasive species

Nutmeg TU needs more than a few good anglers  to join its war against an invasive species threatening the crown jewel of Nutmeg’s territory, the Mill River.

With the full support of the Fairfield Conservation Office, Nutmeg TU is working Saturdays and Sundays in June to stem the invasion of Japanese knotweed on the banks of the Mill River along Congress Street. Not only is the invasive species pushing out indigenous plants on the ground: The rapidly spreading weed is taking root in the stream itself, on rock piles and gravel bars. (Click here to read more about knotweed.)

Be part of the solution

Nutmeg is about to fire a major salvo in a multi-pronged battle that will take at least a year to win.

During June, volunteers must physically cut all of the knotweed along Congress Street, and drag the remains to the street for pickup. In the fall, when the plant is ready to reproduce, an herbicide safe for use near rivers will be sprayed on the weakened plants. If the stand is successful, then a second cutting next spring should  turn back the invader and allow Nutmeg to begin to plant native species along the Mill River.

A recon team earlier this month determined how to  battle the menace and got a handle on what it will take to get the job done.  This work cannot be done by a handful of people. Nutmeg needs more members to answer the call, up to 20 volunteers on any scheduled cutting.

Sessions are scheduled each Saturday and Sunday in June, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or from 1 to 4 p.m. An email address is being established so volunteers can register, but drop-ins are welcome especially the weekend of June 1-2.

All volunteers must read this safety advisory.

We’ve been permitted by the town to reclaim the habitat.  It’s up to us to show that we’re up to the task, and people are watching.

Charles Petruccelli, President

Written by NutmegTrout21730May, 2013

Call, sign petition to protect Farmington

The University of Connecticut is seeking an additional water supply for a potential technology park in Storrs and increased development in the town of Mansfield, and has solicited a number of proposals. The plan submitted by MDC would draw water from a reservoir in the Farmington River watershed, west of Hartford, and pipe it to Storrs.

The Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Save the Sound, Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups are concerned that this would violate the state’s Plan of Conservation and Development by encouraging sprawl in rural areas, that it moves water from one watershed to another, and that it doesn’t conform to a regional water plan. Following these plans is one of the most important ways to make sure our waters stay healthy and adequate to support our communities and wildlife. (Read more in the groups’ blog post.)

Please join in asking UConn to find a more sustainable way to meet its water needs, and in calling for statewide planning that will protect our critical water resources.

Step 1: Call UConn

Call the office of UConn President Susan Herbst at 860-486-2337 .

Sample script:

“Hi, my name is ___, from ___. I’m calling to ask President Herbst to find a solution to UConn’s water needs that doesn’t pull water from the Farmington River Watershed. Water planning is an issue that affects all Connecticut residents. Please make UConn a leader by choosing a solution that supplies only as much water as is needed, protects the integrity of the Farmington and Thames watersheds, and conforms to the state’s Plan of Conservation and Development. Could you pass my message along? Thank you!”

Step 2: Sign the Petition

Voices for the Farmington River has created a petition asking for a smarter water solution for UConn. Please join the over 1,000 Connecticut residents who have already spoken up for sustainable water planning. Then please share it with your friends. Let’s see how many signatures we can get before June 7, when the petition will be ended and delivered to Governor Malloy and President Herbst.

Written by NutmegTrout21730May, 2013

Open house at Rainbow Dam

The annual Open House at the Rainbow Dam Fishway will be held Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

This is the largest fishway in Connecticut and there is a good chance to see migrating salmon, shad, bass, trout, sea lamprey, and other marine life, according to Stephen Gephard ,supervisor of the Diadromous Fish Program and Habitat and Conservation Enhancement Program for the Inland Fisheries Division of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

There is an underground viewing window that is normally off-limits to the public, but on this day the public is invited down to watch fish swim by.

Those using GPS to find the fishway should try 400 Rainbow Road, Windsor.  You still may have to look for our sign on the south side of the road.  Otherwise, take I-91 to Exit 40 and Rt. 20 toward the airport. Take the “Hamilton South” exit, turn left and proceed to the intersection at Rainbow Road. Turn right and look for our signs to the left within a ¼ mile.

“Given the river conditions and the weather forecast, I bet there is a good chance fish will be actively migrating on Saturday,” Gephard said in an email.

Written by NutmegTrout21724May, 2013

Environmental groups fight for dam inspections

Connecticut’s landscape is dotted with approximately 5,500 dams, most of them on private property. The state currently has only one full-time dam inspector — not nearly sufficient to ensure that the dams are sound, according to the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Save the Sound.

HB 6441, An Act Concerning the Dam Safety Program, would let landowners have dams on their property inspected by qualified private sector engineers instead. The idea has wide support, but session is coming to an end and we need your help in making sure the bill gets a vote soon!

Please call one or more of these leaders today:

•            Rep. Brendan Sharkey, Speaker of the House: 860-240-8500

•             Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, House Majority Leader: 860-240-8489

•             Rep. Linda Gentile, Environment Committee co-chair: 860-240-8585

Callers will reach an aide or an answering machine. Here’s a sample script you can use:

“Hi, my name is ___ from _[town]_. I’m calling to ask Representative ___ help make sure HB 6441, An Act Concerning the Dam Safety Program, comes up for a vote soon. This bill will improve public safety and encourage the removal of old and unnecessary dams, and it should not be held up any longer.”

Can you do more? Call your own representative and ask him or her to support HB 6441 in two ways: first, by asking their leadership to make sure the bill is brought up for a vote, and second, by voting yes on HB 6441 once it’s called. Call the House Democrats switchboard at 800-842-8267  or the House Republicans switchboard at 800-842-1423  and ask to be connected to your representative by name. If you don’t know who your state representative is, you can look them up and find their phone number on the CGA website or at www.votesmart.org.

The policy change in HB 6441 is a simple measure that will have multiple benefits:

•            Protecting the public from the hazards of dam failure

•            Protecting landowners from liability

•            Creating steady jobs for private sector engineers

•            Encouraging the removal of unnecessary dams, which restores natural flow to rivers, prevents the buildup of toxic sediments, and allows fish access to their upstream spawning grounds

Read more in this factsheet.