Gov. Malloy Signs Order Implementing The State Water Plan

On June 14, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed Executive Order No. 66, directing the Connecticut Water Planning Council (WPC) to immediately be guided by and implement the State Water Plan, as submitted to the Connecticut General Assembly in January 2018 (the Plan).

The Plan states that it was "prepared to help planners, regulators, and lawmakers make decisions about managing Connecticut's waters in a manner that is consistent throughout the state." 1 To develop the final draft that was submitted to the General Assembly in January 2018, the WPC put the Plan through various iterations as they evaluated input from the public and stakeholders through a process that included extensive and multiple opportunities for public comment.

The Plan was created pursuant to Public Act No. 14-163, "An Act Concerning the Responsibilities of the Water Planning Council" (the Act). Per the Act, the WPC was charged to prepare a state water plan that met 17 objectives, including:

recommend the utilization of the state's water resources, including surface and subsurface water, in a manner that balances public water supply, economic development, recreation and ecological health; recommend steps to increase the climate resiliency of existing water resources and infrastructure; make recommendations for technology and infrastructure upgrades, interconnections and such major engineering works or special districts which may be necessary, including the need, timing and general cost thereof; recommend land use and other measures, including an assessment of land acquisition or land protection needs, where appropriate to ensure the desired quality and abundance of water and to promote development in concert with available water resources; include short- and long-range objectives and strategies to communicate and implement the plan; and seek to incorporate regional and local plans and programs for water use and management and plans for water and sewerage facilities in the state water plan. As required by the Act, the Plan was submitted to standing...