ACTION ALERT: Testify for Environmental Protections! 3/17/25 Public Hearing - Environment Committee

The CT General Assembly’s Environment Committee is holding a public hearing on Monday, March 17th. We ask you to submit testimony for the bills outlined below. It's important that we remind our legislators that environmental regulations are important to Connecticut's citizens. 
Environment Public Hearing: Monday, March 17th at 10:00 AM in Room 2B at the state Legislative Office building. Also available on YouTube Live. 


CTLCV will be testifying in SUPPORT of these bills on the AGENDA:

• HB 6229 AN ACT CONCERNING A REDUCTION OF SINGLE-USE PLASTICS AND POLYSTYRENE WASTE.
  • Purpose: To reduce the production of single-use plastics and polystyrene waste in the state.
  • Talking Points: 
    • Plastic pollution is a growing threat to our health, wildlife, and the environment. Microplastics are in all humans, but scientists are still studying their effects.
    • Polystyrene contains a likely carcinogen and never fully breaks down, turning into harmful microplastics. The EU has banned it—we should too. Connecticut’s children shouldn’t be eating from toxic trays.
    • Plastic waste forms massive garbage patches in the ocean, killing fish, turtles, and marine mammals that mistake it for food. In Connecticut, plastic waste flows into our rivers and out into the Long Island Sound, negatively impacting ocean habitats. 
• HB 7174 AN ACT CONCERNING RIPARIAN BUFFERS AND ASSOCIATED ENVIRONMENTAL PROVISIONS.
  • Purpose: To establish protections for riparian buffer zones, protect fishways along certain water passages and require certain insurance surcharge fees for environmental measures.
  • Talking Points: 
    • HB 7174 adds riparian buffers to Connecticut’s laws, filling a gap in our environmental protections. Connecticut is the only New England state without explicit safeguards for these natural buffers with many benefits to environmental health.
    • They reduce flooding and protect communities from extreme weather, like the devastating Naugatuck Valley floods in August.
    • They improve water quality by filtering pollutants and stabilizing stream banks.
    • They balance environmental protection with property rights by promoting responsible land use.
    • Natural buffers are an efficient and affordable tool, offering protection at little to no cost compared to expensive engineered solutions.

CTLCV will be testifying in OPPOSITION of this bill:

• HB 6249 AN ACT LIMITING APPEALS UNDER THE CONNECTICUT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT.
  • Purpose: To limit who can take an appeal under CEPA for certain residential building permits.
  • Talking Points: 
    • HB 6249 represents a major rollback of environmental protections enshrined in the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), which has served as a critical tool for public accountability in environmental decision-making.
    • This bill weakens the public trust doctrine, which has protected Connecticut’s natural resources for decades by ensuring that concerned citizens and organizations can intervene in cases where the environment is at risk.
    • The bill drastically limits who can intervene in administrative or judicial proceedings related to residential building permit applications, including a vast majority of concerned citizens, environmental advocates, and local community groups who have historically played a key role in protecting public resources.
    • Low-income communities and marginalized populations—who are often disproportionately affected by pollution and overdevelopment—would have fewer avenues to protect their health and well-being.
    • Weakening CEPA in this way signals to developers that Connecticut is willing to sacrifice environmental oversight for expediency. It opens the door for future rollbacks on environmental protections, including in commercial and industrial developments.

Register to Testify
​Submit Written Testimony
Watch LIVE

You must register to testify for the Environment Public Hearing no LATER than 3 PM, Sunday, March 2nd. Submit written testimony using this On-line Testimony Submission Form. The speaker order will be posted on the day before the hearing on the CT General Assembly website at 6 PM. Any written testimony submitted before the meeting will be published in time for the hearing. Learn more about Testifying at Public Hearings on the CGA website.
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