Speak Out Against Environmental Injustice | Save the Sound (formerly CT Fund for the Environment)

Environmental injustices are a national problem, and our state is no exception. Connecticut’s less prosperous neighborhoods face unfair pollution and public health threats.

For example, the combined asthma hospitalization rate for Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, and Waterbury is 3.4 times greater than for the rest of the state.

In 2008, Connecticut passed its first environmental justice legislation into law. It recognized the unjustly frequent placement of power plants, sewage treatment plants, waste incinerators, and landfills near low-income communities and communities of color. These toxic sites spew pollution into over-burdened neighborhoods and cause disproportionately high rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases.
The proposed bill strengthens this existing legislation by:

1. Changing existing law from a voluntary to a mandatory requirement for polluting facility developers to conduct public engagement like notifying neighborhood and environmental groups of their plans in writing.
2. Adding a new clause to invalidate any application for a new power plant, etc. if the applicant does not abide by the rules of public participation.
3. Proposing the creation of a wellness clinic, and ongoing asthma screening, air monitoring, an ongoing traffic study, and watercourse monitoring to track impacts.

Let the Environment Committee hear your thoughts on this proposed bill! You can call (860) 240‑0440, e-mail https://www.cga.ct.gov/env/ or write the Environment Committee, Legislative Office Building, Room 3200, Hartford, CT 06106. Also, contact your local representative and senator to let them know you think this is important.