O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 23-196—sSB 1146
Environment Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING RE VISIONS TO VARIOUS PROGRAMS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL P ROTECTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
§ 1 — CONSERVATION OFFICER TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
Requires conservation officers to become POST-certified within one year after being appointed;
updates training requirements for special conservation officers and certain lake patrolmen
§§ 2 & 3 — PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE ON FISHING REGULATIONS
Requires the DEEP commissioner to post notice of a public hearing on proposed fishing
regulations on DEEP’s website and the state’s eRegulations system; requires her to give the
notice to affected municipalities so they may post it on their websites
§§ 4 & 5 — EMERGENCY CLOSED SEASON FOR THREATENED
REGULATED SPECIES
Authorizes the DEEP commissioner to declare an emergency closed season for any regulated
species threatened with undue depletion, rather than just a threatened fish species; specifies that
this authority applies to recreational and commercial fishing
§ 6 — LAMPREY FISHING NEAR FISHWAYS PROHIBITED
Prohibits lamprey fishing within 250 feet of a fishway (or other distance the DEEP commissioner
sets)
§ 7 — TRANSFERRING COMMERCIAL FISHING LICENSES
Expands the circumstances under which DEEP may temporarily reissue or permanently transfer
certain commercial fishing licenses
§§ 8 & 9 — PERMIT OR LICENSE APPLICATION PUBLIC NOTICE
Requires certain permit or license applicants to publish notice of their application on the affected
municipality’s and DEEP’s websites; requires DEEP to publish certain tentative determinations
on its website
§§ 10 & 11 — OPEN SPACE AND WATERSHED LA ND ACQUISITION
PROGRAM GRANTS
Provides an exception to the general program rule that state grants cannot be made for land that
is already committed for public use; specifies criteria for the exception to apply
O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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SUMMARY: This act makes changes in various statutes and programs related to
the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), as summarized
in the section-by-section analysis below.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
§ 1 — CONSERVATION OFFICER TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
Requires conservation officers to become POST-certified within one year after being appointed;
updates training requirements for special conservation officers and certain lake patrolmen
Under prior law, each DEEP-appointed conservation officer or special
conservation officer had to either complete a police training course at the state
police training school or an equivalent course approved by the Department of
Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) commissioner. The act instead
requires each conservation officer to become certified by the Police Officer
Standards and Training Council (POST) within one year after being appointed. It
also requires each special conservation officer to become POST-certified or
complete a DESPP commissioner-approved equivalent course.
For lake patrolmen appointed by DEEP as special conservation officers to
enforce boating laws in their respective jurisdictions, the act requires each to
complete a police training course at a POST-approved training academy. Prior law
required them to complete a course at the state police training school or an
equivalent DESPP commissioner-approved course.
§§ 2 & 3 — PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE ON FISHING REGULATIONS
Requires the DEEP commissioner to post notice of a public hearing on proposed fishing
regulations on DEEP’s website and the state’s eRegulations system; requires her to give the
notice to affected municipalities so they may post it on their websites
The act requires the DEEP commissioner to post notice of a public hearing on
proposed fishing regulations for inland and marine fishing (including sport fishing
and commercial fishing activities) on DEEP’s website and the state’s eRegulations
system, as well as in newspapers as under existing law. The act requires her to post
notice at least 14 days before a hearing.
The act also requires the commissioner, or her designee, to give a copy of a
notice on (1) inland fishing regulations to each municipality where the waters are
located and (2) marine fishing regulations to each coastal municipality with people
substantially affected by the regulations, for publication on the municipalities’
websites.
§§ 4 & 5 — EMERGENCY CLOSED SEASON FOR T HREATENED
REGULATED SPECIES
Authorizes the DEEP commissioner to declare an emergency closed season for any regulated
species threatened with undue depletion, rather than just a threatened fish species; specifies that
this authority applies to recreational and commercial fishing
O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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The act expands the DEEP commissioner’s authority to declare an emergency
closed season because of undue species depletion to any regulated species, not just
a threatened fish species. “Regulated species” include any bait species, crustaceans,
finfish, horseshoe crabs, sea scallops, squid, or whelk (CGS § 26-1). The act also
specifies, by removing a statutory conflict, that the commissioner’s emergency
closure powers apply to both recreational and commercial fishing.
§ 6 — LAMPREY FISHING NEAR FISHWAYS PROHIBITED
Prohibits lamprey fishing within 250 feet of a fishway (or other distance the DEEP commissioner
sets)
The act prohibits lamprey fishing within 250 feet of a fishway. The DEEP
commissioner may determine and post a different distance she decides is necessary.
Existing law already prohibits all other fishing near fishways. (A fishway is a
passageway for fish, usually near dams and artificial obstructions.)
Any person who violates the fishing prohibition is subject to a $250 fine. Each
fish taken or possessed is a separate offense (CGS § 26-141).
§ 7 — TRANSFERRING COMMERCIAL FISHING LICENSES
Expands the circumstances under which DEEP may temporarily reissue or permanently transfer
certain commercial fishing licenses
The act expands the circumstances under which DEEP may temporarily reissue
or permanently transfer certain commercial fishing licenses (i.e., principal
commercial fishing licenses, general commercial fishing licenses, or commercial
lobster pot fishing licenses).
Temporary License Reissue
Under prior law, the DEEP commissioner could temporarily reissue a
commercial fishing license while the licensee was incapacitated and unable to
operate a vessel or fish. DEEP could issue a temporary license only to a member of
the licensee’s immediate family or crew, and for either 12 months, or the period of
incapacity, whichever was shorter.
The act instead allows the commissioner to temporarily reissue a license due to
a licensee’s own incapacity or an immediate family member’s medical situation
that prevents the licensee from fishing. The temporary license is valid for the
duration of the licensee’s incapacity or family member’s medical situation. The act
specifies that any landings made under the temporary license may count toward the
requirements for a permanent license transfer.
Permanent License Transfer
By law, the DEEP commissioner may permanently transfer a commercial
fishing license to another person if the original licensee landed regulated species in O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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at least five of the prior eight years and reported landings to the commissioner for
at least 30 fishing days in each year. The act also allows the commissioner to
permanently transfer a license if the original licensee owned a vessel that landed
regulated species under a quota-managed species license endorsement in at least
five of the prior eight years and reported landings to the commissioner for at least
30 fishing days in each year.
Additionally, the act allows a recipient of a transferred license to use a vessel
that is 20% greater, rather than 10% as under prior law, than the length of the largest
vessel the original licensee used when fishing with a trawl net.
Transfer After the Licensee’s Death
The act expands the circumstances under which the DEEP commissioner may
transfer a license following the death of a licensee. By law, she may transfer the
license for a two-year period from the date of the licensee’s death by using the
permanent transfer process described above.
Under the act, if the deceased held a license for less than five calendar years,
the DEEP commissioner may transfer the license as long as the licensee landed
regulated species, or owned a vessel that did so under a quota-managed species
license endorsement, for at least six months of each year in which the licensee held
the license and reported the landings to the commissioner as required for at least 30
fishing days each year.
§§ 8 & 9 — PERMIT OR LICENSE APPLICATION PUBLIC NOTICE
Requires certain permit or license applicants to publish notice of their application on the affected
municipality’s and DEEP’s websites; requires DEEP to publish certain tentative determinations
on its website
The act modifies the public notice requirements for applications for certain
DEEP-issued permits and licenses for various regulated activities (e.g.,
constructing dams, constructing solid waste facilities, dredging, stream channel
encroachment). By law, an applicant must publish notice of an application in a local
newspaper. The act also requires the applicant to publish notice on the website
where the affected municipality posts local land use decisions and on DEEP’s
website.
By law, the DEEP commissioner must publish her tentative determination on
an application at least 30 days before approving or denying the application. She
must publish it in the affected area’s local newspaper with substantial circulation at
the applicant’s expense. Under the act, if the application relates to a single-family
residential property, she also must publish her tentative determination on the
affected municipality’s website where local land use decisions are posted and on
DEEP’s website.
§§ 10 & 11 — OPEN SPACE AND WATERSHED LAND ACQUISITION
PROGRAM GRANTS O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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Provides an exception to the general program rule that state grants cannot be made for land that
is already committed for public use; specifies criteria for the exception to apply
The Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program (OSWA) gives state
grants to municipalities, land trusts, and water companies to buy land to be
preserved as open space in perpetuity.
Prior law prohibited OSWA grants for land that was already committed for
public use. The act creates an exception to this. Under the act, land will not be
considered “already committed for public use” if it is subject to a conservation
easement or restriction that resulted from a federally funded land conservation
program, municipal conservation grant program, or private conservation grant
program before the state’s permanent conservation easement is recorded.
Under the act, in order for this exception to apply, the following must happen:
1. the non-state conservation easement or restriction must be executed after
the OSWA grant agreement has been executed;
2. any non-federal holder of easements must subordinate their interests in the
land to the state’s interests when the state’s permanent conservation
easement is recorded;
3. funds associated with non-state easements or restrictions (i.e., federal funds,
municipal grant funds, or private grant funds) must be used as matching
funds for the OSWA grant; and
4. the DEEP commissioner must determine that the conveyance of the other
conservation easement or restriction, in combination with the acquisition of
the state’s interest under OSWA, is one concurrent property acquisition.