The City Council late Monday approved nearly $6.5 million in tax breaks over 20 years to a developer planning to construct 500 new apartments on two sections of the Fort Trumbull peninsula that have sat vacant for more than two decades. The fixed tax agreement with RJ Development + Advisors, LLC, approved by a 5-2 vote, would offset about half the $13 million in estimated pre-construction costs needed to meet flood plain requirments and address remaining remediation and other sub-surface issues at the two sites. The two complexes will consist of market-rate units with none set aside as “affordable” apartments. Construction is slated to begin early next year.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240916/new-london-council-approves-6-5-million-in-tax-breaks-for-fort-trumbull-developer/#

The City Council on Monday agreed to start the process to permanently close and discontinue use of a 1,500-foot section of Lawler Lane to foster future development in the new Occum Industrial Center. The portion of the road extends from 185 Lawler Lane to 256 Lawler Lane. It has no development on either side, and the land on both sides already is part of the Occum Industrial Center. An unidentified developer has expressed interest in the larger development lot to be created at the eastern end of the 384-acre industrial center. NCDC has received an $11.3 million state grant to build a 7,700-foot-long industrial park access road from Route 97 through the property, ending at the Lawler Lane end.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240916/norwich-agrees-to-close-lawler-lane-to-assist-occum-industrial-center/#

Several residents spoke out at an informational meeting Bluewater Group, the developer of the facility, held on Sept. 10, expressing frustration with the project, saying it would encroach on their neighborhood. Many more attendees expressed frustration with the planned project. Christina Bernardin, vice president of Bluewater, said she did not have an update to share at this time on how the company would address noise concerns. Bernardin added that Bluewater would be summarizing residents’ concerns and looking into providing more information to address them at upcoming meetings. In November of last year, the Board of Aldermen unanimously approved extending the purchase and sales agreement for one year to December of this year to allow Bluewater Property Group to continue with a construction feasibility analysis.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/09/16/residents-have-their-concerns-heard-about-amazon-plant/

Bluewater Property Group arranged for Tuesday’s public information session at Gilmartin Elementary School in Waterbury, shortly after it submitted applications for wetlands permits for its 183-acre development site straddling both communities. Bluewater representatives assured attendees they would follow local noise and light regulations and take an array of measures to mitigate impacts. The development site will be wrapped by a noise barrier fence and there will be a minimum 150-foot buffer between the development and nearby residences. Most of the 183-acre development site is owned by Waterbury. Bluewater will also seek upgrades for roadways and intersections near its development, including the widening of the offramp of a Route 8 southbound ramp to two lanes, and a “complete reconstruction” of the intersection of Sheridan Drive and South Main Street in Naugatuck.

Locals give cool reception to massive Waterbury-Naugatuck Amazon warehouse proposal

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