🔒Bill would streamline DEEP permitting; draws business support, environmental concerns

A proposal before state lawmakers would give Connecticut’s environmental regulator broader authority to streamline permitting while accelerating renewals for certain waste facilities, building on a wider effort by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to make its approval process faster and more predictable. House Bill 5154 would allow DEEP to issue general permits for activities that currently require individual review, and create a faster renewal process for solid waste facility permits. DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said the bill is intended to improve efficiency by allowing the agency to use general permits for lower-risk activities and reduce time spent on repetitive reviews. The measure would also allow certain solid waste permits to be automatically renewed if no operational changes are proposed and the agency does not act within 90 days after deeming an application complete. Business groups, including the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, support the changes, saying they would create more predictability and reduce administrative complexity for companies navigating the permitting process. However, environmental organizations warn the bill could weaken oversight. Opponents, including the Connecticut Zero Waste Coalition and Save the Sound, argue the 90-day provision could effectively bypass detailed technical reviews for complex facilities, increasing risks to public health and disproportionately affecting environmental justice communities. Critics say the state should instead invest in additional staffing for DEEP to address permitting delays without reducing scrutiny. The bill comes as DEEP has been in the midst of a broader, multi-year effort to overhaul its permitting system under Dykes. That initiative — known as 20BY26 — aims to improve transparency, efficiency and predictability across the agency’s roughly 125 permitting programs by the end of 2026. As part of that push, DEEP has launched a business concierge service to help applicants navigate the process, reviewed timelines for permit decisions and consolidated certain approvals into general permits to speed up reviews. The agency has also replaced the long-criticized Transfer Act with a release-based cleanup framework intended to lower costs and encourage redevelopment of contaminated properties. House Bill 5154 is under consideration by the legislature’s Environment Committee, which is scheduled to discuss the proposal Wednesday during a 10 a.m. meeting.