[CT Birds] Important Opportunity to Increase Funding for DEP and Wildlife in CT! Part 2 the fact sheet

[COMINS, Patrick]

JUST THE FACTS

For a superb analysis of the problem, see the Council on Environmental Quality's March, 2008 report "Dreams Deferred" at http://www.ct.gov/ceq/lib/ceq/funding_report.pdf

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Fact Sheet:

INVESTING IN ENVIRONMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Environmental leaders across the state are calling on state lawmakers to invest $5 million in our beleaguered Connecticut DEP for next year.

This investment will allow DEP to hire 70 new full-time positions that will provide desperately needed operational resources to protect our land, air, water, and wildlife.

AN ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY DECIMATED BY UNDERFUNDING

DEP receives FAR LESS THAN HALF the level of General Fund (GF) support when compared to any neighboring state.  The agency has been decimated by years of budget neglect.

The impacts of this neglect are apparent across our entire agency and state:

* Miles of extraordinary park drives and picnic grounds are closed to the public due to cuts in park staffing.
* Local wetland agencies struggle every night with challenging development decisions, and only three DEP staff to guide and train them.
* Only two state wildlife biologists with a tiny support staff oversee the welfare of birds and other non-game wildlife. The Natural Diversity Database of threatened, endangered or special concern species is under staffed and the database is often out-of-date.
* Years of toxic, illegal pollution discharges flowed into our rivers and Long Island Sound because water enforcement has been cut.
* Only two staff are available to coordinate the tough job of reducing polluted runoff in over one hundred communities.
* The challenge of global warming requires new planning and implementation staff, but no funds area available to hire them

CRITICAL OUTCOMES

This investment will provide the DEP with the resources needed to begin to:
* Maintain and protect our public parks, provide conservation officers to protect our wildlife and staff to manage our forests;
* Provide consistent enforcement of environmental laws that protect our health, our air, water and land;
* Reduce polluted runoff that now shuts down more beaches and miles of river to swimming and fishing than any other pollution source;
* Help local wetlands commissions respond to growing development pressure;
* Manage our wildlife areas for nature and people
* Reduce permit backlogs and delays that needlessly penalize Connecticut business and delay environmental cleanup;
* Allow Connecticut to maintain a national leadership role in fighting global warming;
* Help get thousands of children outside into our parks and forests.

Patrick Comins, Meriden