Bolstered by new research outlining the potential dangers of the project, town and state officials are engaged in an all out effort to pull the plug on plans to expand a natural gas compressor station located near many homes and just 1,900 feet from Whisconier Middle School. The expansion would result in increased emissions of and exposure of local residents to toxins, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, according tgo the study, which is called “Potential Impacts of the Expanded Iroquois Compressor Station in Brookfield, CT.” In an interview, Ruth Parkins, director of public and government relations for the expansion project at the Iroquois Pipeline Operating Co. in Shelton, said Iroquois is now awaiting approval of its air permit applications from New York and Connecticut.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/study-brookfield-natural-gas-expansion-compressor-19730906.php

The demolition of the former Michael J. Whalen Junior High School building in southern Hamden remains without a definitive timeline, officials said. But the town is moving ahead with plans to renovate the school’s freestanding gymnasium into a youth, arts and recreation center – the first step in Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett’s vision to transform the property into a “community campus.” The new, two-story recreation center will feature a gymnasium, weight room, black box theater, study lounge, kitchen and several rooms for various programming, among other amenities, according to preliminary plans from Hartford-based 7 Summits Construction and Farmington-based Friar Architecture, who were selected as the contractors for the project. The center’s total cost is about $10.84 million, which Hamden will pay for using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/hamden-recreation-center-newhall-middle-school-19745368.php

Already fighting a health agency’s order to stop noise pollution from its Bristol trash-to-energy plant, Reworld last week was hit with a lawsuit claiming it intimidated a competitor and wrongfully tore down that company’s smaller trash incinerator in Wallingford. The suit by Richard Antonucci Jr.’s Country Holding LLC accuses Reworld affiliate companies of using environmental protection rules as cover for demolishing the out-of-service Wallingford plant, even though it knew Country Holding planned to restore it to operations. Country Holding claims it was the victim of a conspiracy by Reworld affiliates to keep it from breaking into the trash-burning industry in Connecticut, which is dominated by Reworld and New Hampshire-based Wheelabrator Technologies. The suit claims the sale agreement specifically acknowledged that Country Holding planned to operate as a transfer station only temporarily; the longer-term plan was to renovate the incinerator equipment and restore trash-burning operations.

CT trash-burning plant facing violation notice over noise hit with $450 million lawsuit

A $12 million, four-year project to replace Sackett Point Road Bridge, which connects North Haven to Hamden over the Quinnipiac River, is essentially complete, North Haven town officials said. However, inflationary costs have brought the project over its budget, requiring town officials to allocate an additional $3 million in bonding toward paying it off. Despite the board’s approval, the resolution must now go before the Annual Town Meeting on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in the North Haven High School auditorium. Freda said the duration of the bridge replacement project is partially due to delays. He said that in the past 18 months, a truck crushed a sewer pipe on the bridge and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection stopped construction for about four months because of fish migration underneath the bridge. He said there were also times when construction paused due to weather.

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/north-haven-3-million-sackett-point-bridge-19752809.php

After operating for decades, the Millstone nuclear power plant is seeking “final closure” of three hazardous waste storage and management units in Waterford. Dominion Energy, which owns Millstone, needs approval from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for the plan that covers three separate buildings at the complex on Long Island Sound. The plan does not address nuclear or radioactive waste, which is subject to approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency. Instead, the proposal concerns hazardous and solid wastes that are under the jurisdiction of DEEP, officials said. The waste is currently stored in three separate buildings at the complex along Long Island Sound on Rope Ferry Road in Waterford. Millstone has been in the news recently as ratepayers across Connecticut have been complaining about their electricity costs. That is partly related to the “public benefits charge” on utility bills that includes money to help pay for the electricity generated at Millstone.

CT nuclear power plant offers plan for storing hazardous waste. What to know.

A developer working for e-commerce giant Amazon has submitted plans to build a sprawling multistory warehouse straddling the Waterbury-Naugatuck line that proponents say could create as many as 1,000 jobs in the lower Naugatuck Valley. A project almost three years in the making, the six-story, approximately 650,000-square-foot robotic-assisted facility would feature 59 loading docks and parking for more than 1,000 vehicles on 183 acres at the Waterbury/Naugatuck Industrial Park off Waterbury’s South Main Street. The parcel intended for Amazon was about 150 acres until primary developer Blue Water Property Group of Pennsylvania bought an adjoining parcel within the last two years, Hyde added. Amazon, a giant multinational technology corporation with a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, already owns 10 warehouses in Connecticut. They are mostly located along the Route 15, I-91 and I-95 corridors, in Bristol, Cromwell, Danbury, Meriden, North Haven, Orange, Stratford, Trumbull, Wallingford and Windsor. The Waterbury-Naugatuck warehouse would be about the same size as Windsor’s.

Amazon Proposes Sprawling Warehouse on Waterbury-Naugatuck Line

After a three-week closure to complete work related to the Walk Bridge Replacement Project, the East Norwalk Train Station is reopening Saturday. Future closures will be planned for crews to replace the East Norwalk Train Station. When complete, the station will have new six-car platforms on both sides along with improved parking and drop-off loops. This is the second time this year the station was closed for three weeks. In March, the station and a portion of East Avenue under the rail bridge were closed as well. The next closures are anticipated for fall 2025 and summer 2027, Morgan said. The new station project is connected to DOT’s $1 billion Walk Bridge Replacement project along with other rail improvements in the Norwalk area.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/east-norwalk-train-station-reopen-closure-platform-19742975.php

Federal, state and local officials gathered at Ferry Landing State Park to celebrate the start of a $1.3 billion project to build a replacement bridge, which they said was years in the making. The railroad bridge is the oldest movable bridge between Boston and New Haven, and it sometimes does not open and close as it should, Gardner said. He said the new railroad bridge will be better in every way: resilient, reliable, modern and designed with a taller, 24-foot span above the water so it will need to open less often for boats passing underneath and be prepared for higher water levels. Jason Hoover, assistant vice president of major bridge programming at Amtrak, said in an interview that the new bascule-span bridge is expected to be completed in 2031. The project also will entail replacing and moving the nearby fishing pier further out to the river. He said the contractors, Tutor Perini Corp. and O&G Industries, are ready to begin the work, and environmental work on the project already started last month.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240905/connecticut-river-bridge-project-begins/

The Federal Highway Administration will award Connecticut $3 million in emergency funding to help repair state roads and bridges damaged in the Aug. 18 flash floods. The governor’s office on Thursday announced the FHWA notified state officials that the “quick release” funding from its Emergency Relief program is being directed to the state Department of Transportation. The emergency funds will assist DOT with ongoing road and bridge repairs to restore essential transportation links. State transportation officials reported 30 state roads were damaged in the 1,000-year rainstorm and flood that swept across western parts of Connecticut. The governor’s office reported state officials continue to prepare requests for major federal disaster declaration that could make federal funding available to help homeowners, businesses, and local and state governments pay for recovery costs. Meanwhile, the Lamont administration will also continue to pursue more emergency relief funding. At Lamont’s request, President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration on Aug. 22 for Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties. The declaration authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to supplement state and local response efforts and help coordinate relief efforts.

https://www.rep-am.com/top-stories/2024/09/05/state-to-receive-3-million-from-feds-to-fix-state-roads-and-bridges-damaged-in-floods/

A development firm is seeking assurances it will receive nearly $6.5 million in tax breaks over 20 years before it will commit to constructing 500 new apartment units on sections of the Fort Trumbull peninsula that have been off the city tax rolls for more than two decades. Representatives of RJ Development + Advisors, LLC, on Monday presented members of the City Council’s Economic Development Committee with a proposed fixed tax agreement they said is needed to help defray unexpected site preparation costs on the two parcels slated for the the apartments. But since that development agreement was signed, new costs have cropped up, including those related to meeting state flood plain requirements, site clean-up and sub-surface issues, Sweeney said. Sweeney said a previous agreement with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection requires the site to meet 500-year flood plain thresholds, which will mean building the complexes on raised steel and concrete podiums.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240904/fort-trumbull-apartment-developer-seeks-millions-in-city-tax-deferments/