This is the first of a two-part report generated after The Newtown Bee was invited to attend the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters’ 22nd Environmental Summit.

The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) Education Fund hosted its 22nd Environmental Summit that took place virtually on January 25 and 27. The event took place prior to the 2022 State Legislative Session that opens February 9.

CTLCV Executive Director Lori Brown welcomed everyone and shared that, “The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters works with advocates and elected leaders from all parts of the state to fight for stronger laws to protect our environment.

“For those of you who are new to the summit this year, this is an annual event to help identify the major environmental challenges that our state is facing and to highlight some of the legislative and administrative solutions that are being proposed.”

It is also an opportunity for the public to learn about the issues and get involved in joining advocates leading the way with solutions.

Brown explained that those attending the two-day event would hear about “efforts to slow climate change, protect our forests and farmlands, invest in clean energy and natural resources, and reduce pollution from transformation, waste, and pesticides, and much more.”

She stressed that we are in a “real climate emergency” and that the state needs to invest equitably in communities.

Before diving into the program, Brown said that the summit is dedicated to Julie Belaga, who founded the CTLCV and passed away November 19 at the age of 91. CTLCV Board Member and Former Chair Ken Bernard shared about Belaga’s legacy and her positive impact on environmental protection.

State Funding Panel

The summit then launched into its State Funding Panel, which featured Environmental Planner Denise Savageau, who serves as chair of the CT Council on Soil and Water Conservation; Amy Paterson, executive director of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council; Eric Hammerling, executive director of CT Forest and Park Association; and Robert LaFrance, director of policy for National Audubon Society’s State Office.

Savageau mentioned that there is a lot of federal funding that has been pouring in to the state. The American Rescue Plan Act, which she said is also known as the COVID Act, has $6 billion going to Connecticut that can go towards funding clean water and safe drinking water projects.

“The other big bill that has been passed is the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill,” Savageau said.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes green infrastructure and climate resiliency.

Paterson then spoke to how Connecticut has set a goal of conserving 21% of the state’s land base by 2023.

“As you likely know, the state is not nearly on track to meet that goal,” she said. “According to the Connecticut Council on Environmental Qualities 2020 Annual Report, to reach 21% the state would need to conserve 19,500 acres of land over three years.”

Paterson continued, “To put that in perspective, over the last ten years the state has conserved an average of 795 acres per year. So, if we are serious of reaching the state’s goal, investment in land conservation must be a top priority. Unfortunately, however, compared to other New England States, it’s not.”

She then showed a graph from a Wildlands and Woodlands Report comparing Connecticut to other New England states in terms of combined state and federal per capita public funding of land conservation. Connecticut is last compared to Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

“Levels of funding are not nearly enough to meet demands,” Paterson said.

In Hammerling’s presentation, he focused on how the state is not keeping pace with resources to support the public’s great interest in outdoor recreation.

Since the 1980s, there has been a decrease in state park staffing even though there has been a steady increase in park visitation for more than a decade.

He explained, “Parks, campgrounds, nature centers, and related public facilities are managed with people power, they cannot be managed remotely … over the last two years this has meant that park supervisors, maintainers, and seasonal [workers] have been front line workers during the pandemic, interfacing with the public who has been getting outdoors in record numbers for their health and well-being.”

Additionally, Hammerling notes that 45% of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) environmental protection employees are eligible to retire July 1 and many are leaving before that time because that is when state pensions are being reduced.

LaFrance elaborated on Hammerling’s talk by taking a further look into Special Act 2123, which was recently enacted by the General Assembly concerning staffing and resources for DEEP this year.

He mentioned that within the department the Environmental Conservation Police have been “historically underfunded,” yet continue to be given more responsibility.

“They are the folks on the front line that take care of us … we need to support these folks, as well, and make certain that they get staffing levels up to where they need to be,” LaFrance said.

Environmental Justice

The next event at the Environmental Summit was about environmental justice. It was led by State Representative Geraldo Reyes, who serves Waterbury, and State Representative Bobby Gibson, who serves Bloomfield and Windsor. They are also chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus.

They provided insights to consider how the state invests in projects, and how resources should be shared equitably with all communities.

Reyes says that he “fights for communities of color” that are greatly underserved and noted that Waterbury is still affected by poor air and water quality, as well as contaminated lands.

He said that people may see that millions of dollars are allocated for projects, but the distribution of those dollars is not transparent and that there needs to be fair distribution.

Gibson added that in the Hartford area there is a large trash plant next to communities of color.

“It is very troublesome knowing and seeing that there are a lot of inequities in health care, especially as it relates to access to help with asthma rates going up in an area where some of those who most need clean air and clean environment are being effected,” he said.

They spoke about not only how it is important to have environmental justice legislation, but to also have environmental education.

Climate & Clean Energy

During the Climate & Clean Energy Panel, experts discussed topics including Connecticut’s Global Warming Solutions Act, efforts to end fossil fuel expansion, how to bolster energy efficiency programs, how to remove obstacles to solar energy, and a Climate Agenda.

It was led by Leah Lopez Schmalz, vice president of Programs for Save the Sound; Samantha Dynowski, state director of the Sierra Club Connecticut; Mark Scully, president of People’s Action for Clean Energy; Amy McLean, senior policy advocate and director at Acadia Center’s Connecticut office; and Nathan Frohling, director of external affairs at The Nature Conservancy.

Schmalz said that Connecticut is not on track to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals and that there are a number of provisions in the Global Warming Solutions Act.

“What the most recent data that DEEP released showed us is that not only are we not on track to meet any of those mandates, we’re actually, in certain sectors, above the 1990 baseline; which means that our trajectory is on the upward trend instead of the downward trend, which is where we need to be going … as we are backsliding, our residents are really suffering,” she said.

Schmalz says there needs to be updates to the Global Warming Solutions Act.

Dynowski agreed that Connecticut is “an outlier” in meeting its goals compared to other states in the region. Also, it needs to stop expanding the use of natural gas and instead have more renewable energies, such as solar power.

Scully added to the conversation, saying, that commercial and community solar is being held back by outdated regulations. It needs to be expanded to yield its many benefits in Connecticut.

McLean focused on the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund, which “supports all the energy efficiency programs and initiatives, and it is raised through a surcharge on the customer electric gas bills and proceeds from the regional greenhouse gas emissions ... and other sources.”

She said that most people do not know it exists, but that everyone pays into it. She encourages everyone to call Energize CT and get their home energy assessment.

Frohling discussed how to pull all this information together “to help get the job done.”

He presented the Climate and Energy Legislative Priorities document, found on the Environmental Summit’s webpage.

“It is the collective work of the 20 organizations who have all signed on to the document who made it possible. The document presents 24 legislative measures that we collectively believe are the most important for Connecticut’s climate agenda and that will benefit all Connecticut residents,” Frohling said.

It offers a united path forward as a reference guide to address the key areas that need attention and who is available to help make progress happen.

Environment Committee

The Environment Committee Priorities talk concluded day one of the CTLCV Environmental Summit.

State Senator Christine Cohen and State Representative Joe Gresko, who are cochairs of the legislature’s Environment Committee, led the conversation. They discussed what is being considered priority legislation for the 2022 session.

Cohen said, “We are working on a clean air initiative that we believe will really benefit our environmental justice communities, our residents, our land, [and] our sea greatly.”

She said there is also a bill dealing with banning Expanded Polystyrene (also known as Styrofoam). It also deals with the concern for microplastics and the intentional release of balloons.

Gresko added, “I expect us picking up some of the bills that were left out last year.”

Brown ended the program saying, “The last session was a great way to close our last day ... thank you again for joining us today.”

Stay tuned for The Newtown Bee’s next print edition, February 18, where the second day of the Environmental Summit will be covered. To watch the summit videos and access resources from the discussions, visit conservationeducation.org/summit.html.

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.