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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 732
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 4709
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT REQUIRING THE STATE WATER PLAN TO BE AMENDED TO
ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 22a-352 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) Not later than July 1, 2017, the Water Planning Council, 3
established pursuant to section 25-33o, shall, within available 4
appropriations, prepare a state water plan for the management of the 5
water resources of the state. In developing such state water plan, the 6
Water Planning Council shall: (1) Design a unified planning program 7
and budget; (2) consider regional water and sewer facilities plans; (3) 8
identify the appropriate regions of the state for comprehensive water 9
planning; (4) identify the data needs and develop a consistent format for 10
submitting data to the council, applicable state agencies and regional 11
councils of governments for use in planning and permitting; (5) consider 12
and address the potential impact of climate change on the availability 13
and abundance of water resources and the importance of climate 14
resiliency; (6) seek involvement of interested parties; (7) solicit input 15
from the advisory group established pursuant to section 25-33o; (8) 16
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consider individual water supply plans, water quality standards, stream 17
flow classifications, as described in regulations adopted pursuant to 18
section 26-141b, water utility coordinating committee plans, the state 19
plan of conservation and development, as described in part I of chapter 20
297, and any other planning documents deemed necessary by the 21
council; (9) promote the adoption of municipal ordinances based on the 22
State of Connecticut Model Water Use Restriction Ordinance for 23
municipal water emergencies; and (10) examine appropriate 24
mechanisms for resolving conflicts related to the implementation of the 25
state water plan. 26
(b) The state water plan developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this 27
section shall: (1) Identify the quantities and qualities of water that are 28
available for public water supply, health, economic, recreation and 29
environmental benefits on a regional basin scale considering both 30
surface water and groundwater; (2) identify present and projected 31
demands for water resources on a state-wide and regional basin scale; 32
(3) recommend the utilization of the state's water resources, including 33
surface and subsurface water, in a manner that balances public water 34
supply, economic development, recreation and ecological health; (4) 35
recommend steps to increase the climate resiliency of existing water 36
resources and infrastructure to climate change; (5) make 37
recommendations for technology and infrastructure upgrades, 38
interconnections and such major engineering works or special districts 39
which may be necessary, including the need, timing and general cost 40
thereof; (6) recommend land use and other measures, including an 41
assessment of land acquisition or land protection needs, where 42
appropriate to ensure the desired quality and abundance of water and 43
to promote development in concert with available water resources; (7) 44
take into account desired ecological, recreational, agricultural, 45
industrial and commercial use of water bodies; (8) inform residents of 46
the state about the importance of water-resource stewardship and 47
conservation; (9) establish conservation guidelines and incentives for 48
consumer water conservation with due consideration for energy 49
efficiency; (10) develop a water reuse policy with incentives for 50
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matching the quality of the water to the use; (11) meet data collection 51
and analysis needs to provide for data driven water planning and 52
permitting decisions; (12) take into account the ecological, 53
environmental, public health and safety and economic impact that 54
implementation of the state water plan will have on the state; (13) 55
include short and long-range objectives and strategies to communicate 56
and implement the plan; (14) seek to incorporate regional and local 57
plans and programs for water use and management and plans for water 58
and sewerage facilities in the state water plan; (15) promote 59
intraregional solutions and sharing of water resources; (16) develop and 60
recommend strategies to address climate resiliency including the impact 61
of extreme weather events; and (17) identify modifications to laws and 62
regulations that are necessary in order to implement the 63
recommendations of the state water plan. 64
(c) The Water Planning Council shall provide a time period of not less 65
than one hundred twenty days for public review and comment prior to 66
finalizing such plan. The Commissioners of Public Health and Energy 67
and Environmental Protection, the chairperson of the Public Utilities 68
Regulatory Authority and the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 69
Management shall post such draft plan and information concerning 70
such comment period in a conspicuous location on their respective web 71
sites. The Council on Environmental Quality shall post such draft plan 72
and information concerning such comment period in the Environmental 73
Monitor. The Water Planning Council shall advertise and hold not less 74
than one public hearing during such public review and comment 75
period. After such public comment period, the council shall fully 76
consider all written and oral comments concerning the proposed state 77
water plan. The council shall make available the electronic text of the 78
finalized state water plan on an Internet web site where the finalized 79
state water plan shall be posted and a report summarizing: (1) All public 80
comments received pursuant to this subsection, and (2) the changes 81
made to the finalized state water plan in response to such comments and 82
the reasons for such changes. 83
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(d) Not later than January 1, 2018, the Water Planning Council, in 84
accordance with section 11-4a, shall submit the state water plan to the 85
joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance 86
of matters relating to the environment, public health, planning and 87
development and energy and technology. The council shall submit such 88
report to the Governor electronically. Said joint standing committees 89
may conduct a joint public hearing on the state water plan and (1) 90
submit the plan with said joint standing committees' joint 91
recommendation for approval to the General Assembly, or (2) return the 92
plan to the Water Planning Council indicating their disapproval and any 93
recommendations for revisions to the plan by said council. 94
(e) The state water plan shall become effective when adopted by an 95
affirmative vote of the General Assembly as the state water plan for the 96
state. 97
(f) In the event that said joint standing committees do not recommend 98
approval of the plan or the General Assembly does not adopt the plan 99
by affirmative vote, the plan shall be returned to the Water Planning 100
Council for revisions and resubmittal to the General Assembly in 101
accordance with the provisions of subsection (d) of this section. 102
(g) The Water Planning Council [may] shall submit the state water 103
plan or a revised state water plan to address climate change in a 104
subsequent session of the General Assembly for approval in accordance 105
with the provisions of this section. 106
(h) If the state water plan is not adopted by an affirmative vote of the 107
General Assembly on or before twenty-four months after the date of its 108
original submittal pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, then it shall 109
be forwarded to the Governor for adoption or rejection. 110
(i) The Water Planning Council shall oversee the implementation and 111
periodic updates of the state water plan. On or before January 1, 2016, 112
and annually thereafter, the Water Planning Council shall submit a 113
report, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the joint standing 114
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committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 115
relating to the environment, public health, planning and development 116
and energy and technology on the status of the development and 117
implementation of the state water plan and any updates to such plan. 118
On and after January 1, 2016, the report required by this subsection shall 119
supplant the requirement for an annual report as required pursuant to 120
section 25-33o. 121
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 22a-352
Statement of Purpose:
To require the state water plan to be amended to account for climate
change.
[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.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. MARX, 20th Dist.; REP. STEINBERG, 136th Dist.
REP. ARZENO, 151st Dist.; SEN. COHEN, 12th Dist.
REP. BUMGARDNER, 41st Dist.
S.B. 732