Cultivating The Common Good

To the Editor:

 Senate Bill 124 states “Sec 501. (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall not make a determination of need or approve any permit application that is pending or filed as of the effective date of this section for a new solid waste facility located within one thousand feet of a primary or secondary aquifer, or the expansion of any such existing facility, until there exists a need for such additional capacity, as determined by the Solid Waste Management Plan.”

Outcomes as monumental as the passage of state legislation are credited to many individuals and groups committed to the balance of justice and the rights of individuals. A seed is planted by a concerned group of neighbors (Hawleyville Environmental Advocacy Team) providentially guided by local government representatives and agencies who, together create the proper organic mixture. Individuals such as George Ferguson, then Conservation Commission member and currently District 1 Legislative Council representative, cultivates the soil through his environmental knowledge, neighborhood site visits, and working relationships with Newtown boards and members. Legislative Council District 1 representative Kevin Fitzgerald’s proactive letter to the editor and attendance at town meetings ensures a proper container for healthy growths. First Selectman Pat Llodra keeps light on the planting while ensuring a proper ph. The healthy root system extended outward to the members of both the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) and Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority (HRRA), who collectively sent letters to state agencies and officials. This powerful unit is comprised of the leading government officials, i.e., selectman, mayors, former selectman, from the 11-plus surrounding towns. Plantings of communication by First Selectman Pat Llodra with State Senator John McKinney, State Representative Christopher Lyddy and Hawleyville neighbors proved prolific.

A law was passed unanimously in both the House and Senate. Then, almost uprooted and pruned beyond survival by Governor Rell’s veto, Senator McKinney and State Representative Lyddy worked tirelessly restaking, watering and fertilizing the soil, driving a unanimous override in both the House and the Senate of the governor’s veto at the 11th hour. The result was the reinstatement of a bipartisan law benefiting the common good.

Pond Brook is an aquifer classified as GA (suitable for drinking water) and must be protected. Your participation is the trellis of support now needed. Go to www.dontwastehawleyville.com and click the link found in the upper right corner of the page to sign the petition.

Ann Marie Mitchell

Terry Laslo

Cathy Winkler

Helga Ruopp

PO Box 171, Hawleyville                                            October 27, 2010