State Senator Edward Meyer
March 13, 2009
Meyer, Stillman Applaud Bill to Create Joint Connecticut-New York Commission on Long Island Sound
A proposal by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to establish a Bi-State Long Island Sound Commission that would help Connecticut and New York State balance the often competing issues of energy and environmental quality in the Sound was endorsed today by two state senators who live on the Connecticut shoreline and who have long advocated for a cleaner, safer Long Island Sound.
State Sen. Ed Meyer (D-Guilford), who is Senate Chairman of the legislature’s Environment Committee, and state Sen. Andrea Stillman (D-Waterford), who was co-chair of the former Long Island Sound Liquefied Natural Gas Task Force, today endorsed Senate Bill 1078, AN ACT ESTABLISHING A BI-STATE LONG ISLAND SOUND COMMISSION.
The bill will receive its public hearing on Monday, March 16 at 10:30 a.m. in Room 2-E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
“Connecticut citizens were very successful in preventing the environmental disasters that would have been Islander East and Broadwater. Connecticut and New York have got to build on those successes by working together proactively instead of simply reacting to threats to public safety and threats to the environmental quality of a body of water that we both hold so dear,” Sen. Meyer said. “I have spoken with both former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, and current New York Governor David Patterson, about such a bi-state commission, and have received a favorable response. I would encourage the New York General Assembly, of which I am a former member, to give this proposal serious consideration and its unanimous approval.”
“For the duration of this current recession, it will be more difficult to protect and preserve the Sound and its shoreline from the seemingly compelling demand for increased commercial and industrial use, because some of those options might potentially generate much-needed revenue,” Sen. Stillman warned. “For this reason, and because we remain stewards of the Sound responsible for delivering it to future generations in good condition, we must work with New York officials through some formal means and resist attempts to develop our jointly held, preeminent natural treasure.”
“This permanent, bi-state commission would provide the vehicle for that cooperative effort and we hope our counterparts in New York will agree,” Sen. Stillman added.
The idea of such a bi-state commission has its roots in 2005, when the legislature — with support from Sen. Meyer and Sen. Stillman — sought to create a permanent, bi-state Long Island Sound Committee. That proposal would have required such a Committee to report to the governors of New York and Connecticut each year and to recommend laws regarding proposed industrialization and private use of the Sound, including proposed private energy projects. In making its recommendations, the committee must seek to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impact of these industrialized and private uses.
The new proposed bill to be debated Monday would create a Bi-State Long Island Sound Commission consisting of 14 members, seven from Connecticut and seven from New York. The Connecticut members would be appointed to two-year terms, with one each appointed by the governor, Senate president, Senate majority leader, Senate minority leader, speaker of the House, House majority leader, and House minority leader. The governors of Connecticut and New York, or their designees, would serve as co-chairs of the commission.
The Commission would review and consider major environmental, ecological and energy issues involving Long Island Sound and the lower Hudson River Valley; seek consensus on strategies and policies concerning such issues, and make recommendations for administrative and legislative action to implement such strategies and policies.
The commission, if approved, would meet for the first time no later than October 1, 2009, and then quarterly thereafter at a time, date and place to be determined by the co-chairs.
The creation of any such commission would require similar approval in the New York State legislature.
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