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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6914
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 3841
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO THE HARBOR MANAGEMENT
ACT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 22a-113n of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2
passage): 3
(b) The plan may recommend: (1) Boundaries for development areas 4
to be approved and established by the Commissioner of Energy and 5
Environmental Protection in accordance with the provisions of section 6
22a-360; (2) designations for channels and boat basins for approval and 7
adoption by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection 8
in accordance with the provisions of section 22a-340; (3) lines 9
designating the limits of areas for the location of vessels with persons 10
living aboard to be approved and adopted by the director of health in 11
accordance with section 19a-227; (4) pump-out facilities, including the 12
designation of no discharge zones in accordance with Section 312 of the 13
federal Clean Water Act; and (5) regulations for the operation of vessels 14
on the harbor pursuant to the provisions of section 15-136. Upon 15
adoption of the plan, any recommendation made pursuant to this 16
section, including, but not limited to, any recommendation made by the 17
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commission that is consistent with and supported by the plan, shall be 18
binding on any official of the state, municipality or any other political 19
subdivision when making regulatory decisions or undertaking or 20
sponsoring development affecting the area within the commission's 21
jurisdiction, unless such official shows cause why a different action 22
should be taken. 23
Sec. 2. Section 22a-113p of the general statutes is repealed and the 24
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 25
(a) The commission may review and make recommendations, 26
consistent with the plan, on any proposal affecting the real property on, 27
in or contiguous to the harbor that is received by any zoning 28
commission, planning commission or combined planning and zoning 29
commission, zoning board of appeals, historic district commissions, 30
flood prevention, climate resilience and erosion control board, harbor 31
improvement agency, port authority, redevelopment agency, shellfish 32
commission, sewer commission, water pollution control authority or 33
special district with zoning or other land use authority. Such agencies 34
shall send a copy of any such proposal to the commission upon the 35
request of such commission. The commission shall be notified of any 36
such proposal at least thirty-five days prior to the commencement of the 37
hearing thereon or where no hearing is held, at least thirty-five days 38
prior to the taking of any final action on the proposal. The local agency 39
authorized to act on the proposal shall consider the recommendations 40
of the commission. A two-thirds vote of all the members of the local 41
agency having authority to act on the proposal shall be required to 42
approve a proposal which has not received a favorable recommendation 43
from the commission, provided that the provisions of this section shall 44
not be deemed to alter the authority of the agency having primary 45
jurisdiction over the proposal to deny, modify or condition the proposal. 46
Failure of the commission to submit a recommendation shall be deemed 47
to be approval of the proposal. 48
(b) The commission may review and make recommendations, 49
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consistent with the plan, on any application for a state permit or license, 50
including for any registration, that affects the harbor and that is received 51
by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or any 52
other state agency with authority in the subject harbor. The Department 53
of Energy and Environmental Protection, or other state agency, as 54
applicable, shall require that any applicant for such a permit or license: 55
(1) Consult with the commission prior to submission of an application 56
for such a permit or license, and (2) provide copies of any such 57
application to the commission at the same time as such application is 58
submitted to the department or state agency, as applicable. The 59
department, or other state agency, authorized to act on any such 60
submitted application shall consider the recommendations of the 61
commission made pursuant to the plan. Pursuant to section 22a-113n, as 62
amended by this act, any recommendation of the commission that is 63
consistent with and supported by the plan with respect to a proposed 64
project shall be binding on any official of the state when making 65
regulatory decisions or undertaking or sponsoring development 66
affecting the area within the commission's jurisdiction, unless such 67
official shows cause, in writing, why a different action should be taken. 68
Failure of the commission to submit a recommendation shall be deemed 69
a determination of consistency with the plan. 70
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 22a-113n(b)
Sec. 2 from passage 22a-113p
Statement of Purpose:
To clarify provisions of the harbor management act concerning
commission authority to review and make binding recommendations
concerning applications for local and state permits and licenses,
including registrations, that affect the harbor area.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]