Environmentalists, Elected Officials To Meet On Utility Land Sale

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and a group of mayors, legislators, the first selectman and residents from Newtown, Southbury, Monroe, Shelton, Oxford, Seymour and Beacon Falls will be at Newtown High School Tuesday, February 8 at 8 pm to discuss the threat to southwest Connecticut’s open space land posed by the sale of Aquarion/Bridgeport Hydraulic to the British firm Kelda.

This is the third in a series of meetings that are planned around the area by the Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE) and a bipartisan group of environmentalists and elected officials.

Up to 12,000 acres of watershed and open space land are believed to be at risk. These lands are the largest uninterrupted forestlands left in western Connecticut. According to the group, there is an enormous economic incentive for BHC’s new parent company, Kelda, to sell and/or develop these essential open space lands. Almost 18,000 acres are involved in the purchase.

“We’re calling on Kelda to do the right thing and simply donate conservation easements permanently preserving all of BHC’s lands,” said Curt P. Johnson, CFE staff attorney. “The ongoing tax benefits of such a step would be comparable to what Kelda would reap from sale of the land.”

“In the absence of any action by the company,” Mr Johnson said, “a bi-partisan coalition of local officials, conservation groups and state lawmakers is working to form a new regional water authority covering the BHC service area. A regional water authority is economically feasible and would permanently preserve all of BHC’s lands at little or no cost to taxpayers.”

State Sen John McKinney, Rep John Stripp, Rep Pat Shea and Newtown First Selectman Herb Rosenthal are members of the group involved in organizing these meetings. Over the past two weeks, hundreds of signatures have been gathered on a petition calling on state leaders to investigate strategies for permanently protecting BHC’s lands including the formation of a regional water authority and the possibility of Kelda gifting permanent conservation easements on BHC land. Over 100 residents attended a similar meeting in Easton on January 31.

Representatives from CFE, a nonprofit environmental organization that uses law, science and education to defend and improve Connecticut’s environment, will be on hand at the Newtown meeting to discuss the history of the issue and options for preserving the lands permanently. The organization was a leader in the fight to save Trout Brook Valley in Easton and Weston.

The meeting is open to the public. For more information, contact Sandy or Dan at CFE, 203/787-0646. Two more meetings are planned: one for residents of Stamford and New Canaan on February 10; the other for residents in the Northwest Hills on February 16.