News Releases - 2020

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• 8/6/2020 DEEP Advises Against Contact Recreation in Mill Brook, Packers Pond, and Quinnebaug River Below Mill Brook Intersection Over Next 48 Hours Due to Sewage Bypass

  The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has been advised that 150,000 gallons of partially treated, but not disinfected, wastewater has bypassed the Plainfield Village wastewater treatment facility in Plainfield, CT.

• 9/4/2020 DEEP Closing Record Summer Season, Preps for Fall

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is expecting large crowds this holiday weekend to close-out the summer outdoor recreation season, which has been one for the record books including 519 park closures due to capacity, compared to just 161 last year. Visitors are reminded to plan ahead, practice appropriate social behavior consistent with COVID-19 precautions, and to #RecreateResponsibly.

• 9/2/2020 DEEP Expands Alcohol Ban for Beach Pond Boat Launch Area

  The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has expanded and extended a temporary alcohol ban for Beach Pond State Boat Launch in Voluntown.

• 1/30/2020 DEEP Hosts 14th Annual No Child Left Inside® Winter Festival

  Grab your winter gear, bundle up and join us for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) No Child Left Inside® 14th annual Winter Festival at Burr Pond State Park, 384 Burr Mountain Road, Torrington.

• 8/28/2020 CT State Parks to Re-institute Non-Resident Fee Collection

  The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is re-instituting a parking fee collection process for non-resident visitors at what will eventually be up to 22 park locations with field-testing to start Monday.

• 8/25/2020 DEEP Temporarily Restricts Candlewood Lake Boat Launches, Increases Monitoring

  Gov. Ned Lamont announced today that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will close the Lattins Cove state boat launch and limit parking capacity to 50% at Squantz Cove state boat launch beginning Wednesday, August 26.

• 8/17/2020 Media availability on DEEP’s recent use of a drone to identify hotspots to aid in containment of recent Riverside Thompson forest fire.

  Media availability on DEEP’s recent use of a drone to identify hotspots to aid in containment of recent Riverside Thompson forest fire.

• 8/13/2020 DEEP Divisions Share New Technology to Identify Hotspots in Fire Response

  THOMPSON-The eye in the sky soars overhead as radiant islands reveal themselves in stark contrast to the surrounding dark. Yellows and reds pulsate prominently against the gray of the road and the dense black of the forest.

• 2/18/2020 DEEP Announces the Winner of the 7th Annual Fishing Guide Cover Photo Contest

  The winning photo, captured by Jim Curcuruto of Middlebury, shows himself and his son Cooper Curcuruto with a pair of Largemouth Bass caught at the same time while fishing at Taunton Lake in Newtown.

• 9/11/2020 Kent Falls State Park to Re-Open

  The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced today that Kent Falls State Park will re-open to the public on Saturday, September 12, at 8 a.m.

• 8/5/2020 DEEP Advises Against Contact Recreation in CT River over next 48 hours due to Massachusetts Sewage Release

  The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has been advised that hundreds of thousands of gallons of combined untreated stormwater and sewage has been released into the Chicopee River in Springfield, which feeds into the Connecticut River. As a precaution, DEEP advises against contact recreation in the Connecticut River north of the city of Middletown over the next 48 hours.

• 9/21/2020 Governor's Council on Climate Change Kicks off Public Review and Forums Period

  Today, the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3) is launching a series of public forums in which working groups for the GC3 will present their draft reports and seek input from the public on recommendations to keep Connecticut on track to meet its goal of a 45 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and how to adapt and become resilient to the impacts of climate change.

• 9/1/2020 DEEP Announces New Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Conservation

  he Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announces its new Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Conservation, Mason Trumble, an outdoor educator with expertise in promoting and expanding access to outdoor recreation through innovative partnerships between the public and private sectors.

• 4/27/2020 DEEP Reminds Residents to be Bear Aware

  Early spring is the time of year in which bear activity increases, and understanding that the vast majority of state residents are spending considerable amounts of time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) reminds residents that DEEP staff continue to be available to respond to situations involving black bears, and to take steps to reduce encounters and potential conflicts with bears.

• 4/23/2020 State One Step Closer to Establishing National Research Reserve

  More great news to share this Earth Week as the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced its approval of a network of state-owned properties and coastal waters in Lyme, Old Lyme, and Groton to be the site of the state’s first National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR).