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12/04/2015 09:15 AMBRANFORD, CT – Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr. hosted the first-ever 12th District Environmental Strategic Planning Summit. Environmental advocates from around Connecticut and residents of the 12th District towns of Branford, Guilford, Madison, North Branford, Durham and Killingworth were in attendance to talk about a range of important environmental issues that Senator Kennedy plans to address in the upcoming 2016 legislative session.
"Connecticut's natural environment is one of our state's most important natural assets, and I am committed to working to ensure it can be enjoyed by future generations," said Senator Kennedy. "I invited some of the leading environmental advocates from around my district and Connecticut to come together and explore creative ways to tackle some of the most pressing environmental issues facing our communities. We spoke about a number of issues that I am interested in taking on in the upcoming legislative session, including reducing pesticide use, cutting down on solid waste, protecting wildlife and preserving Connecticut's state parks and shoreline. I thank everyone who attended, and look forward to working alongside them on these issues in the upcoming legislative session."
The Environmental Summit was designed to identify critical environmental issues facing the shoreline region and strategize on the most effective ways to address these issues through legislative and grassroots action. Four panels of experts led the conversation on different areas of environmental policy.
The "Reducing Pesticide Use and Ensuring Pollinator Health" panel was led by representatives from Bishop's Orchards, Shadle Farm, The Watershed Partnership, and the Agricultural Experiment Station. This panel explored the impact that excessive pesticide and herbicide use has on the decline in bee populations. Specifically, they looked at alternative ways that the Department of Transportation, local publics works departments and utility companies can adopt healthier and more environmentally friendly weed and vegetation control strategies.
The "Product Stewardship" panel was led by Senator Kennedy and Rob LaFrance from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). This panel guided a discussion on how Connecticut can cut down on single-use plastic bags and other wasteful products. They also discussed a proposal to improve the state's ability to recycle used tires and batteries. Senator Kennedy introduced legislation on these issues in the 2015 legislative session, and plans to offer new legislation in the upcoming session.
The "Protecting Wildlife and Advancing Animal Welfare" panel was led by representatives from CT Votes for Animals, the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter in Branford, and Audubon Connecticut. This panel focused on strategies for better protecting wildlife and environmentally sensitive habitats in Connecticut. The panel also spoke about a need to stiffen penalties for animal cruelty. Last year Senator Kennedy led Senate passage of a bill that would establish increased penalties for animal cruelty so that individuals committing these acts will be held responsible for their actions and would not be eligible for Accelerated Rehabilitation. Although this legislation passed the Senate, it never came before the House of Representatives for a vote. Senator Kennedy expressed his intention to introduce it in the upcoming session.
The final panel discussed how best to protect Long Island Sound, state parks, open space and the Connecticut shoreline. This panel was led by representatives from Friends of CT State Parks, Save the Sound, the Guilford Land Conservation Trust and the Center for Energy and Environmental Law at the UConn School of Law. This panel led a discussion on how climate change is impacting the region and how the state and municipal governments can prepare for it through proactive zoning and other measures. Panelists also talked about expanding revenue-generating services at Connecticut State Parks. This year Senator Kennedy led passage of legislation requiring that DEEP explore new ways to finance the maintenance of state parks. The panel explored how this mission can be furthered in the future.