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DEP ENTERS AGREEMENTS WITH WATER COMPANIES TO EVALUATE OPEN SPACE
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bridgeport-based Aquarion Water Company to evaluate up to 1,300 acres of water company land in Greenwich and Mystic for potential future acquisition as open space. The agreement, signed in March 2003, is in addition to agreements between the DEP and Birmingham Utilities, Connecticut Water Services, and the Torrington Water Company, signed in December 2002, to assess approximately 13,000 acres owned by those three water companies.
As a result of these voluntary partnerships, over 70% of the land held by private water companies in Connecticut will be protected from sale while the DEP assesses the property for its natural resource and conservation value.
“This agreement continues our efforts to explore every opportunity to evaluate and acquire properties for open space preservation statewide,” said DEP Deputy Commissioner David K. Leff. “These agreements build on the success of recent open space acquisitions by providing a framework to evaluate water company property in more than 40 communities throughout Connecticut, presenting DEP the opportunity to thoroughly assess the natural resource and recreational value of the property.” Under the terms of the agreements, the DEP, in cooperation with the four water companies, will evaluate all undeveloped Class I land (generally within 250 feet of a reservoir), Class II land (watershed property that acts as a buffer for water supply), and Class III land (off of the watershed) to determine the land’s desirability for open space acquisition. Using criteria
established from DEP’s existing open space programs, the Department will assess the properties based on their natural resource and recreational value. In addition, the agreements stipulate that the parties will work to develop strategies to fund the preservation of those properties through a sale or easement from the company.
“We have continually maintained that we have had no intention of abandoning our reservoirs in Greenwich or Mystic and selling the land for development. These reservoirs are needed to continually meet the water supply demands for our customers in the Greenwich and Mystic systems that we recently acquired from the Connecticut-American Water Company,” said Richard K. Schmidt, Aquarion CEO and Kelda USA President. “This MOU confirms that fact, while providing the State of Connecticut with another opportunity to enhance its open space holdings for citizen enjoyment. I wish to thank not only the DEP, but also Connecticut legislators and town officials who have supported Aquarion and DEP during this MOU process.”
“Connecticut Water is committed to working with the state to preserve water company lands as open space,” said Marshall T. Chiaraluce, President and CEO of Connecticut Water Service. “Through this MOU we will be able to explore ways of protecting thousands of acres of undeveloped water company land in a manner that benefits the residents of the state as well as the interests of the utility and its ratepayers.”
“This initiative provides a tremendous opportunity to continue our track record of preserving water utility land as open space to benefit customers and the communities in which we operate,” said John Tomac, President of Birmingham Utilities, Inc.
Torrington Water Company President Richard Calhoun said that “…while his company has no immediate plans to sell its land holdings, the MOU was a unique opportunity to join in a public private partnership to study how to preserve the land as open space forever while providing financial benefits to customers and the utility.”
Aquarion Company, through its Aquarion Water Company subsidiary, is one of the ten largest investor-owned water utilities in the United States, serving approximately 211,000 homes and businesses, and approximately 677,000 people in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire. Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut provides water to 170,000 customers, or more that 587,000 people, in 36 cities and towns.
Birmingham Utilities, Inc. serves 32,000 people in the towns of Ansonia, Derby and small parts of the contiguous Town of Seymour.
Connecticut Water Services serves about 295,000 people in 42 towns in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Torrington Water Company serves about 38,000 people in Torrington, Harwinton, Litchfield, and New Hartford.
STATE
OF CONNECTICUT | Further
Information Contact: Matthew Fritz - DEP, (860) 424-4100 Adrienne Vaughan – Aquarion, (203) 336-7624 Susan Suhanovsky – Torrington, (860) 489-4149 John Tomac – Birmingham, (203) 735-1888 Dan Meaney – CT Water, (860) 669-8630, ext. 3016 |