Advocacy

Norwalk River Watershed Association

2021 Policy Focus: PFAS & updating the Bottle Bill

The 2021 CT Legislative Session is underway remotely because of Covid-19

Let Your Representatives Know You Support These Bills to Protect Water. Find Your State Rep Here.

SB 926 AN ACT CONCERNING THE PRESENCE OF PFAS IN CERTAIN CONSUMER PACKAGING. NRWA’s letter of support. Great news! This PFAS bill was voted out of the Environment Committee on March 29 and will be voted on by the State Senate!

S.B. 837 AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF PERFLUOROALKYL OR POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES IN CLASS B FIREFIGHTING FOAM. NRWA’s letter of support.

S.B. 1037: An Act Concerning Solid Waste Management (This will update the Bottle Bill!). NRWA’s letter of support.

NRWA’s Goals for Policy Protecting Water

1. Restrict & Monitor toxic PFAS Chemicals to protect drinking water, human health and the environment by

banning the use of this class of chemicals in fire fighting foam, where not required by the Federal Government
limiting their use in food packaging and food service wear. More on PFAS in food packaging.
funding and expanding monitoring of drinking water sources and other high risk sites for PFAS
establishing a health-protective minimum contaminant level (MCL) for the entire class of PFAS chemicals in drinking water.

The acronym PFAS stands for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of chemicals that have been and are presently used for a variety of purposes. Most notably, they are found in non-stick, water, stain and grease-resistant products.

PFAS are commonly used and highly dangerous. The use of long-chain PFAS in the U.S. is being phased out due to an increased awareness of their harmful effects, yet, the short-chain versions — or those with a smaller number of carbon fluorine bonds — are still actively used in consumer products. More…

Dupont and spinoff Chemours have developed a new version of PFAS chemicals called GenX which they claim are safe. This paper reports on studies that challenge that claim. It also reports on finding the new chemical in pristine waters of the Arctic. We need to act to stop the spread of GenX AND PFAS in the environment.

Last year the FDA Announces Voluntary Agreement with Manufacturers to Phase Out Certain Short-Chain PFAS Used in Food Packaging. This is good news, but the entire class of PFAS chemicals needs to be banned in food packaging, so we still need to push for that legislatively in CT. “The FDA’s announcement is good but leaves out other short chain PFAS chemicals and new variations of PFAS chemicals that can be added to products. This is a very common tactic of the chemical industry, so pushing hard to regulate the whole class eliminates this problem of ‘regrettable substitutions,’ ” explains Anne Hulick of Clean Water Action.

Urge Gov Lamont to Act

2. Keep plastic out of our rivers and Long Island Sound.

Update the decades-old Bottle Bill to help keep plastic out of the ocean. We can keep millions of bottles and cans out of Connecticut’s parks, beaches, and streets every year at no cost to taxpayers by adding perfectly recyclable juice, sports, and energy drinks, as well as tea containers, to our current bottle bill. We also need to increase the container deposit from five to ten cents, a change that will boost Connecticut’s bottle redemption rate, which is the lowest in the country. And finally, it should give a small raise to redemption centers and stores for their work to collect and store empties, which will encourage more redemption businesses to open.

With our recycling system broken and plastic pollution a growing problem worldwide, now is the time for an update to our bottle bill. More…

What is Connecticut’s beverage container recycling law (“bottle bill”)?

Group Letter NRWA has signed on to.

NRWA’s letter from 2020

Limit the Use of Polystyrene. Anyone who has joined us at our annual river cleanup at Oyster Shell Park has seen the millions of bits of styrofoam, mainly from discarded food packaging, that cover the banks. Enough is enough. NRWA’s letter from 2020

3. Pass Pesticide Legislation to Protect People & Pollinators

BAN CHLORPYRIFOS IN CT and Digitalize Pesticide Permit Applications at DEEP. Dow’s pesticide chlorpyrifos has devastating impacts on our health, children’s developing brains, and our environment. The pesticide, part of a class of chemicals developed for nerve gas by Nazi Germany, has also been linked to Parkinson’s disease and lung cancer. Chlorpyrifos was banned for home use in 2000. After years of study, the EPA determined that there are no safe levels of exposure and was set to ban all uses of this pesticide in 2015. However, our current administration reversed the decision. Read More…

According to CT DEEP’s data, farms only account for 10.8% of chlorpyrifos used. Golf courses account for 86% of chlorpyrifos use in CT, totaling more than 590 gallons in 2019—here’s a list of where it was used in 2018 and 2019. (Tara Cook-Littman, a concerned mom and member of the Fairfield Pollinator Pathway, filed a request through the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to the boxes of pesticide applications in Hartford, and that is how we have this list.

Tara’s work revealed the desperate need for digitizing the state’s pesticide applications

SUPPORT A BILL TO END PESTICIDE PREEMPTION IN CT and allow municipalities the right to make decisions about pesticide applications in their own towns. Currently municipal restrictions are preempted by State requirements, a law the pesticide industry has worked to keep in place. If your town would like to restrict a toxic pesticide, but the state allows its use, your town restriction would be preempted. More info here.

This letter went to your town leaders. Ask them to join this action to overturn preemption.

The sample letters below refer to the 2019 bill that was not called for a vote. We will update the bill numbers when they are set for the 2020 session.

Sample Letter from Pollinator Pathway

Sample Letter from Beyond Pesticides

Email Your Legislator

Sample Script for Call

In 2019 NRWA focused on these legislative actions to protect the watershed AND THEY WERE PASSED:

1. Passing the State Water Plan. To provide that a public trust be retained in the water of the state. More information.

2. Banning Fracking Waste Statewide, first we helped pas bans in four watershed towns Redding, Ridgefield, Weston & Norwalk, then we supported the state ban.

3. A statewide ban on plastic bags. First we helped pass a local ban in Norwalk.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Our Advocacy Work

The Norwalk River Watershed Association serves as a guardian of the watershed, voicing concerns about threats to the area’s environment through pollution, development, legislation and regulation. NRWA frequently submits comments and suggestions on proposed development of or new regulations related to the watershed.

Board members represent the interests of the watershed by taking part in public hearings, workshops, and related committees and other Boards such as:

FCRCP (Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership)

Land Trusts and Conservation Commissions play an important role by preserving access to natural spaces, clean water, and healthy ecosystems, all of which contribute to the well-being of communities and individuals. The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership (www.fcrcp.net) makes these land trusts and commissions stronger by integrating ideas, leadership, and outreach across town boundaries, allowing them to protect more land over broader scales.

NRWI (Norwalk River Watershed Initiative)

The Norwalk River Watershed Initiative (NRWI) is a partnership among the seven watershed municipalities; federal and state governments; conservation and environmental groups; businesses and, you, the public. Efforts are focused on our primary mission which is to protect and improve the quality of our water and overall health of our river, streams, lakes and wetlands. The Initiative strives to bring together the efforts and resources of other groups with a similar focus including The Norwalk River Watershed Association, Trout Unlimited, HarborWatch at Earthplace, the Norwalk River Valley Trail, and local schools and communities. NRWI goals and objectives seek to engage our entire watershed community which requires a balance between environmental concerns with community and business development interests. The greatest chance for success is when all are vested and work together pooling resources toward a common goal – water systems that are healthy, clean and dynamic.

Norwalk River Valley Trail

The Norwalk River Valley Trail (NRVT) project aims to build 38 miles of multi-purpose trail connecting Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Rogers Park in Danbury, passing through Wilton, Ridgefield, and Redding on the way.

In addition to creating recreational opportunities for walkers, hikers, cyclists, kids, pets and – on some stretches – equestrians, the NRVT will offer a green and healthy transportation alternative to reach rail stations, schools, offices, and businesses.

Earthplace’s Harbor Watch

Harbor Watch monitors a wide area of watershed from the Pequonnock River in Bridgeport to Holly Pond in Stamford in an attempt to protect and improve the biological integrity of Long Island Sound. It is the leading volunteer assisted water quality monitoring program in Fairfield County, which has inspired water quality activism throughout the region. Through this volunteer-driven model, the program simultaneously addresses Long Island Sound contamination issues and educates the environmental scientists of the future through hands-on research and experiential learning.

Trout Unlimited

The Mianus Chapter of Trout Unlimited is part of a national conservation organization dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring our coldwater fisheries. As a conservation organization, the Mianus Chapter is primarily involved in active restoration work on local rivers and streams, but also promotes educational activities, hosts regular fishing outings and works with local and state agencies and regional environmental organizations to plan and implement conservation programs.

Advocacy

Recent comments regarding state and local projects/policies that affect our watershed:

Board members represent the interests of the watershed by taking part in public hearings, workshops, and related committees and other Boards such as: