A Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by a former State Pier tenant seeking to overturn the state’s decision to issue a permit for work at the pier in New London. Judge John Louis Cordani ruled that DRVN Enterprises Inc., a road salt business that had operated at State Pier until earlier this year, lacks standing to appeal a decision by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to issue a permit to the Connecticut Port Authority for dredging in the Thames River and other work needed to complete the pier project. DRVN has operated at State Pier since 2014, the year it signed a contract with former port operator Logistec USA Inc. In 2019–20, DRVN said in court documents it imported and distributed 198,000 tons of salt, employed 14 full-time employees and had revenues totaling about $13 million. Gateway New London LLC took over operation of State Pier in 2019 and gave DRVN until this February to vacate the pier while the Connecticut Port Authority moved ahead with renovation plans, a project funded by the state and wind partners Ørsted and Eversource. DRVN claims its revenues, as a result of the loss of use of State Pier, have dropped to $4.5 million for 2021–22, it now has only five full-time employees and is projected to distribute just 60,000 tons of salt.
https://www.theday.com/local-news/20211201/judge-dismisses-complaint-over-permit-at-state-pier-in-new-london