CT DEP seeks new water protection rules

State environmental regulators are proposing new rules they say better balance human and ecological needs to protect Connecticut’s more than 6,000 miles of waterways.

Among the proposals from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are new guidelines for activities that alter the flow of rivers and streams, such as withdrawals of groundwater and surface water or the operation of dams or other impoundments. 

The proposed regulations would establish four categories, or classes, of rivers and streams:

·    Class 1 waters would be considered “natural,” characterized as a resource having little current development in the watershed and having not been affected by the removal of water for human uses. 

·         Class 2 waters would be considered “near natural,” sharing many characteristics with Class 1 systems.  The flow standards for this class, however, would allow for some levels of human alteration. 

·         Class 3 waters would be defined as “working rivers,” where human uses may have a significant influence on steam flow patterns.  These rivers and streams are expected to have adequate water resources available to support viable aquatic communities.  Some changes in use may be necessary to restore flow patterns needed to ensure these conditions.

·         Class 4 waters would be characterized as systems where past practices have resulted in a significant deviation from the natural stream flow pattern and restoring these rivers and streams to a more natural condition would cause an extreme economic hardship.

In Class 1 waters, priority would be given to protecting the ecological health of a river or stream, DEP said.  In Class 4 waters, support of human activities would be weighted most heavily.  In Class 2 and Class 3 waters, permitted activities would o strike a balance between ecological and human needs. 

“These new regulations will help make certain we meet human needs for water in a manner that also protects aquatic life, wildlife and natural resources,” DEP Commissioner Amey Marrella said.

The DEP has scheduled two informational sessions on the proposed regulations for Nov. 9 at 9 a.m., and Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the agency’s Phoenix Auditorium at 79 Elm St. in Hartford.

A formal public hearing is set for Jan. 21 from 9 a.m. until all comments have been heard in the Phoenix Auditorium.