You asked for summaries of the acts affecting Long Island Sound since 2004.

We found five public acts and one special act affecting Long Sound since 2004. We list summaries of each below in chronological order.

1. PA 04-191, AAC A MARINE PROTECTION AREA AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE LONG ISLAND SOUND TASK FORCE

The act required the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board to consider the recommendations and findings of the Task Force on Long Island Sound when developing guidelines to evaluate proposals for alternative solutions addressing the state's energy needs. The task force, created by PA 02-95, in conjunction with Governor Rowland's Executive Order 26, examined ways to provide for the region's energy needs while protecting the Sound. It issued its report in June 2003.

The act also required the board to identify any data or information, in addition to the task force findings, that would enhance state agencies' ability to plan for, manage, and evaluate proposed uses of, and encroachment onto, the bottom of the Sound. The board had to report its findings and any recommendations to the Environment Committee by January 1, 2005.

2. PA 04-222, AN ACT CONCERNING THE PRESERVATION OF THE FAMILY FARM AND LONG ISLAND SOUND

This act requires the Department of Agriculture (DOAg) commissioner to impose an annual fee of 40 cents per linear foot on the owner of certain facilities that cross any grounds of the Sound within Connecticut's jurisdiction, including any shellfish area or leased, designated, or granted grounds. The fee applies to facilities that require either (1) a Connecticut Siting Council certificate or (2) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval. The commissioner must (1) deposit 75% of the fee proceeds in the “expand and grow Connecticut agriculture” account, which the act establishes, and (2) transfer the remaining 25% to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) commissioner for deposit into the Environment Quality Fund.

The act extends for a third year, until June 3, 2005, the moratorium on state agency considerations or final decisions on applications relating to electric power line, gas pipeline, or telecommunications crossings of Long Island Sound. The act allows applicants to submit a petition for a waiver of the moratorium to (1) the chairpersons and ranking members of the Energy and Technology and Environment committees, (2) the Connecticut Siting Council and Public Utilities Control Authority chairpersons, (3) the DEP commissioner, and (4) any other state agency with jurisdiction over the petition subject. It allows these officials to grant the petition by unanimous consent.

3. PA 05-137, AN ACT CONCERNING A BI-STATE LONG ISLAND SOUND COMMITTEE

This act replaces the Connecticut-New York Bi-State Long Island Sound Marine Resources Committee with the Bi-State Long Island Sound Committee. It requires the new committee to recommend legislation to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impact of the proposed industrialization and private use of the Sound's public trust resources. Like the Sound Committee, the new committee has 18 members, nine each from Connecticut and New York, appointed by the same appointing authorities.

4. PA 06-82, AN ACT CONCERNING ECONOMIC INCENTIVES FOR ACHIEVING NITROGEN EFFLUENT REDUCTIONS TO LONG ISLAND SOUND.

Existing law establishes the Nitrogen Credit Exchange Program for municipal sewage treatment plants to reduce the amount of nitrogen they discharge into Long Island Sound. The DEP commissioner issues a general permit that specifies these plants' individual nitrogen effluent limits based on the total maximum daily load (TMDL). The act authorizes her also to issue a general permit for private-sector entities that discharge nitrogen into state waters. The permit must establish effluent limits and an annual compliance schedule for each private-sector entity. It may include marketable permits, effluent reduction credits, or other economic incentives.

Excess Nitrogen and Long Island Sound

The Nitrogen Credit Exchange Program provides a way to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering Long Island Sound. Excessive nitrogen is a primary cause of “hypoxia,” a condition in which there is too little dissolved oxygen in the water to sustain aquatic life. Hypoxia, which occurs primarily in the western half of the Sound, reduces the habitat available to important fish and shellfish species that live in bottom waters. Excess nitrogen causes hypoxia by fueling the growth of algae. As the algae die, they sink to the bottom of the Sound and decompose, consuming oxygen in the process. The more algae there are, the greater the depletion of oxygen.

Total Maximum Daily Load

The TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant (in this case, nitrogen) that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the TMDL for Long Island Sound in 2001 in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act. The TMDL is allocated among contributing pollution sources.

Nitrogen Credit Exchange Program

PA 01-180 created the Nitrogen Credit Exchange Program, which allows municipal sewage treatment plants to trade nitrogen credits to achieve the TMDL. Under the program, treatment plants receive credits when they discharge less nitrogen into the Sound than they are allowed under their discharge permits. DEP buys these credits and sells them to plants that discharge more nitrogen than their permits allow. These plants are then considered in compliance.

5. HB 5846, AN ACT REQUIRING A STUDY OF BUDGETED STATE AGENCIES WITH RESPECT TO THE EXPENDITURES OF SUCH AGENCIES IN RELATION TO PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY SUCH AGENCIES - §§ 46-51 – LOBSTER RESTORATION EFFORTS - [PUBLIC ACT NUMBER NOT YET ASSIGNED]

The act establishes a lobster trap (pot) allocation buy-back program and an economic assistance program for resident commercial lobster fishermen. It bases funding for these programs on whether the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission establishes a v-notch program that has equivalent conservation value to current or future requirements for management Area 6 (Long Island Sound) by November 1, 2006. By law, the state is required to abide by the commission's area lobster management plan (e. g. , conservation measures). Under the act, if the commission adopts a v-notch program that would allow the state to manage its lobster population by following such a program, 100% of any lobster conservation appropriation for FY 07 goes to fund the program. If the commission has not done so by November 1, 2006, 60% goes to fund the buy-back program and 40% to the economic assistance program.

The act establishes a Lobster Restoration Advisory Committee to advise the DEP commissioner on the development of a lobster v-notch conservation program, which is meant to enhance recovery and rebuilding of lobster stock in the Long Island Sound.

Prior law prohibited anyone from buying, selling, giving away, offering for sale, or possessing, regardless of where taken, any lobster with a body shell (carapace) length less than 3 and 9/32 inches, as required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's American Lobster Fishery Management Plan for Lobster Management Area 6 and adopted by state regulation. Under the act, a seafood dealer, wholesaler, or shipper may possess and sell lobsters less than that length under certain conditions.

6. HB 5803, AN ACT CONCERNING A PILOT PROGRAM TO EVALUATE SHORELINE EROSION [SPECIAL ACT NUMBER NOT YET ASSIGNED]

The act requires DEP to establish a program of grants for preconstruction costs necessary to establish pilot programs in Milford and Fairfield to reverse shoreline erosion and hypoxia through a system of stabilizing bars. The act provides that any unexpended funds carry forward and are available during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008.

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