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Presentations Report
On April 12, 2002, Governor John G. Rowland issued Executive Order No. 26 to establish a task force to undertake a review and analysis of all pending proposals for permanent large-scale gas or electric transmission projects, including all proposals for projects crossing Long Island Sound and electric transmission proposals in southwestern Connecticut. The task force's charge is to evaluate methods to minimize the numbers and impacts of energy crossings within Long Island Sound including:
- Recommendations for providing for regional energy needs while protecting Long Island Sound
- Assessment of the present status, future potential, and environmental impacts of proposed methods for laying of a power line, pipeline or cable
- Identification of possible measures to mitigate environmental impacts and maintain the aesthetic integrity of regions in Connecticut where it has been determined transmission must be sited
On May 6, 2002, the General Assembly enacted Substitute House Bill 5609, An Act Concerning the Protection of Long Island Sound (PA 02-95). The Act established a working group to develop a comprehensive assessment and report relating to electric transmission lines from Bethel to Norwalk, including:
- Economic considerations, environmental preferences, and the appropriateness of installing such transmission lines underground or overhead
- The feasibility of meeting all or part of the electric power needs of the region through distributive generation, the electric reliability, operational and safety concerns of the region's transmission system
- The technical and economic feasibility of addressing those concerns with currently available electric transmission system equipment
Public Act 02-95 also contains provisions for:
- A comprehensive inventory and mapping of all existing environmental data on the natural resources of Long Island Sound
- An evaluation of the relative importance and uniqueness of the natural resources and an identification of the most ecologically sensitive natural resources of Long Island Sound
- An assessment of the present status, future potential and environmental impacts on Long Island Sound of meeting the region's energy needs that do not require the laying of a power line or cable within Long Island Sound
- An evaluation of methods to minimize the numbers and impacts of electric power line crossings, gas pipeline crossings and telecommunications crossings within Long Island Sound, including an evaluation of the individual and cumulative environmental impacts of any such proposed crossings
- An inventory of current crossings of Long Island Sound and an evaluation of the current environmental status of those areas that have crossings
- An evaluation of the reliability and operational impacts to the state and region of proposed crossings of Long Island Sound and an evaluation of the impact on reliability by recommended limitations on such crossings
- Recommendations for providing for regional energy needs while protecting Long Island Sound to the maximum extent possible
- Recommendations on natural resource performance bond levels to insure and reimburse the state in the event that future electric power line crossings, gas pipeline crossings or telecommunications crossings substantially damage the public trust in the natural resources of Long Island Sound
History of PA 02-95
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