Beyond Gas, Clean Energy & Climate

• To address climate change Sierra Club Connecticut opposes gas expansion and advocates for deployment of clean energy. Here are some of the areas we are taking action to reduce the use of fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to clean energy:​

  • Connecticut Must Lead on Climate! In fall 2021, Sierra Club Connecticut, alongside a dozen organizations, collected and delivered thousands of messages to Governor Lamont to take bold and urgent administrative action to address the climate crisis. On December 16, Governor Lamont issued this Executive Order on climate. The Executive Order includes actions the Governor can take without a vote of the legislature, and included many of the items Sierra Club Connecticut advocated for in the fall.

  • Updating Connecticut’s Energy Efficiency program to end rebates for fossil fuel equipment and appliances. Sierra Club is calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies, an increase in heat pump incentives and prioritizing equity in the energy efficiency plan. On December 4, we submitted these joint comments to DEEP.  CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is expected to release the final plan in early 2022.

  • Opposition to New Fossil Fuel Power Plants:  Since 2016,  Sierra Club Connecticut has opposed a brand new 650 megawatt fossil fuel power plant in Killingly. On January 3, FERC approved ISO-New England’s request to terminate the contract for the plant! The news was widely covered including these stories from CT Mirror, CT Examiner, E & E News, We continue to monitor a proposal for a 375 megawatt power plant in Middletown. 

  • Air quality monitoring/citizen science: Sierra Club members are engaging in citizen air quality monitoring. Governor Lamont’s Executive Order creates air monitoring in environmental justice communities. If you want to monitor your air, or have mad data crunching skills, we are looking for you! Contact Martha.

  • Ending Connecticut’s Gas Expansion Plan: Sierra Club is advocating for an end to the ratepayer funded gas expansion plan to lay new gas pipelines and convert customers to fracked gas. In December, PURA issued a report that recommends ending the gas expansion plan. PURA also opened a new docket on gas expansion, Docket 21-08-24, Petition of William Tong, Attorney General for the State of Connecticut, and the Office of Consumer Counsel for an Investigation into Eversource Energy Regarding Gas Expansion Marketing. Sierra Club joined with several other organizations to file comments in the docket, and as an intervenor. This op-ed in the CT Mirror by Peter Millman urges ending gas expansion and planning for the future, and explains the problems with continued investment into gas pipelines. 

Zero Waste​​

• Sierra Club CT is working with allies led by CT Coalition for Environmental Justice to oppose trash incineration and to implement Zero Waste policies.  We are working with residents in Bristol to fight the proposal to burn medical waste in their Covanta trash incinerator. Bristol Residents for Clean Air are proposing a strong clean air ordinance for the City of Bristol.  In Putnam, we are supporting efforts alongside Save the Quiet Corner and other allies to stop the expansion of the existing trash incinerator ash landfill. In Hartford, we are monitoring a proposal by MIRA to replace the dying trash incinerator with a transfer station. We are ramping up to support legislation on composting and waste reduction this session, and we continue our webinar series on February 2 with Zero Waste in the 2022 Legislative Session.

Ready for 100​

• Local campaigns for 100% clean and renewable energy: Teams in four Connecticut towns (Hartford, Milford, West Hartford and Windsor) are actively working to transition their communities to 100% clean and renewable energy.  In December, the Trinity College Action Lab issued their report on Energy Burden in Hartford; the students engaged in the study at the request of the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 Hartford campaign. The report includes data on energy burden and moving personal stories and photos about the impact of energy burden on the members of the Upper Albany community. ​

Clean Transportation​

• Electric Vehicle  Policy: Sierra Club is working with allies to advocate for policies that promote EV charging, fleet transition, rebates and more. On January 6, Sierra Club filed these comments to DEEP in support of medium and heavy duty truck standards to reduce Nox emissions to come into compliance with federal air quality standards. On December 7, we filed these comments to PURA on proposed EV managed charging requirements.

Land & Water​

• Remington Woods: Sierra Club Connecticut’s Save Remington Woods campaign aims to protect Remington Woods from development and to be preserved in its entirety. Remington Woods is a 422 acre forest in Bridgeport and Stratford. Although the City of Bridgeport has zoned Remington Woods as RX1 & RX2, we are hopeful that this is not the end of the story. Senator Blummental penned a letter to the EPA Administrator as well as the Deputy Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service to see if the woods could be protected as a nature refuge similar to the Stewart McKinney site. See his letter here. Alongside local organizations, we are planning a town hall meeting (Feb 2022) for members of the community, local leaders to discuss options and what next steps for 2022-2023 look like. Sign the petition to Save Remington Woods here.

Insure Our Future​

• Insure Our Future: Sierra Club is partnering with CCAG and the Insure Our Future campaign to urge the Connecticut insurance industry to stop investing in and underwriting fossil fuels.  On November 15, we submitted this letter to the Federal Office of Insurance outlining our engagement with the insurance industry and recommending greater oversight of the insurance industry investments and underwriting.

Legislative Session​

• The Chapter’s Legislative Committee is in full swing for the 2022 session of the Connecticut General Assembly. Sierra Club’s legislative priorities for 2022 can be found here, as well as more detailed info on Energy, Environment, and Wildlife policy.  Contact Art for more information.

Wildlife​

• Wildlife: The Wildlife Committee has prepared its priorities for the legislative session. It’s not too soon to reach out to your legislators to protect wildlife. See more here.​