Kennedy Leads Passage of Important Environmental Bill

From CT Senate Democrats: Environment Committee Co-Chair, Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr. (D-Branford), led successful committee passage of S.B. 343, An Act Concerning the Effects of Climate Change on the Safety Plans of Certain Chemical Facilities, a bill to address the potential impact of severe weather events and sea level rise on the state's toxic chemical facilities most at risk for climate change. S.B. 343 passed out of the Committee, with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 29-1, and now heads to the senate floor.

According to a recent report, there are over 2,500 toxic chemical sites across the nation that are located in flood-prone areas, with over 1,400 of those that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) considers "at highest risk of flooding." Based on permit information recently obtained by the Environment Committee from Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), approximately 40 of these hazardous waste and toxic chemical facilities are located in Connecticut – facilities located in sensitive coastal zone areas along Long Island Sound and adjacent to our state's most flood-prone riverbanks.

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