Connecticut
Who We Are
Clean Water Action is a national non-profit organization with 11,000 Connecticut members and 1,000,000 nationally. Our Hartford, Connecticut staff works with citizen leaders and decision-makers around the state on issues affecting our health, environment and community quality of life.
In the last few years, Clean Water Action played a leading role in the successful Sooty Six campaign to clean up the state's most polluting power plants, passed laws to reduce the neurotoxin mercury in products and to limit mercury emissions from coal power plants, and is currently active in combating global warming and promoting clean energy sources and replacing toxic chemicals with safer alternatives.
Clean Water Action Campaign Victories
Since 1998, Clean Water Action has won a number of legislative and regulatory victories.
2008
Lead Levels in Children's Products Restricted - Clean Water Action and allies in the Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Connecticut turned back intense opposition from big chemical companies, the toy industry, and dozens of in-state retailers and recently won new legislation to phase out toxic lead and asbestos in children's products.
Connecticut is one of only a handful of states that have restricted lead content in products for children. The bill also requires our state agencies to compile a list of hazardous substances found in children's products and corresponding safer alternatives. The governor signed this bill into law on June 2nd.
State Agencies Required to Act On Global Warming - In 2004, Clean Water Action coordinated the effort to make Connecticut the second state to adopt global warming goals. In 2008 Clean Water Action worked with allies to strengthen the state's voluntary goals into mandatory pollution limits. With the help of Connecticut Climate Coalition supporters, Clean Water Action organized a rally during a national meeting of governors on climate, which combined with a flood of postcards and calls, helped secure Governor Rell's support for mandatory emission limits. With the governor's support in hand, the state legislature overwhelmingly approved a new law requiring state agencies to act on global warming and show regular progress toward meeting enforceable statewide global warming emissions limits.
The governor signed this bill into law on June 2nd. Read our press release about the bill's passage.
More Information
"Rell Signs Law Setting Caps On Emissions", Hartford Courant, June 6, 2008
2007
A National Precedent Cutting Diesel Pollution from School Buses - The Connecticut Alliance Against Diesel Pollution coordinated by Clean Water Action and its allies passed a law to clean up school buses across the state by September 1, 2010. The CT General Assembly passed legislation to retrofit all school buses in the state with pollution control filters, which will keep exhaust out of the cabin and reduce tailpipe pollution up to 85%. Governor Rell approved a state budget that appropriated $10 million for school bus retrofits.
Energy Bill Strong on Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency - Clean Water Action sent a clear message to legislators to support a strong energy bill that prioritizes energy efficiency assistance for ratepayers over building more power plants. Clean Water Action and allies worked to ensure that the energy bill supported a comprehensive planning process to meet our energy needs. The bill also moves Connecticut to 20% clean electricity by the year 2020.
Strengthened Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative - Clean Water Action worked to support legislation which set a national global warming precedent by requiring all power plants in the state pay for their global warming pollution under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The legislation also required that the resulting revenue will be used to help consumers lower their energy bills through efficiency and clean energy.
2006/2007
Montville Coal Power Plant Rejected - Clean Water Action worked with legislators to keep new coal plants out of Connecticut’s energy bill and then led the effort to convince the DPUC not to reward power company NRG Inc., with ratepayer money to help them build a new coal plant in Montville. The plant was proposed to cost $1.6 billion and would have emitted 5 millions tons of CO2 annually.
2005
Defending the Mercury Products Law - CWA defeated an attempt to exempt several products from the mercury products law at the state legislature.
Connecticut Commits to 8 state power plant agreement - Clean Water Action and Connecticut Climate Coalition allies successfully worked to ensure Governor Rell remained engaged in the eight state agreement to reduce global warming pollution from power plants, despite criticism from electric companies and the business community. With CT remaining part of the program, the "Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative" was able to move closer to adoption. This agreement is the first multi-state program of its kind in the United States.
2004
New Haven Commits to 20% Clean Energy by 2010 - Launched on January 29, 2003 in New Haven, CT, the 20% by 2010 campaign is an effort to promote investment in clean, renewable energy sources at the municipal level. Clean Water Action worked with citizens in New Haven to make it the first city to commit to support clean electricity, and following New Haven's lead, Portland, Milford, Fairfield, West Hartford and Stamford joined 20% by 2010. By April 2006, a total of 20 towns across the state had committed. Read a history of the clean energy campaign. (pdf)
Connecticut Becomes the Second State to pass Global Warming Legislation - The Connecticut Climate Coalition coordinated by Clean Water Action is credited with bringing Connecticut from a laggard to a leader and citizens around the country and the world have looked to our work for inspiration. The 2004 global warming law mandated the release and implementation of a Connecticut Climate Change Action Plan to reduce heat-trapping pollution to 1990 levels by the year 2010, 10% below 1990 by 2020 and 75-85% by 2050.
2003
Reducing Mercury Emissions from Coal Plants - Clean Water Action negotiated an agreement with PSEG (the owner of Connecticut's biggest coal-burning power plant) to dramatically reduce emissions from power plants in CT. The law became the first in the nation to regulate these emissions and reduced mercury approximately 90% by 2008.
Defend Conservation and Local Management Fund - Governor Rowland's budget proposal threatened to remove all of the electric customer's money from funds which supported energy conservation and efficiency measures, as well as renewable energy investment and development. Clean Water Action fought hard against this and in the end only 1/3 of the fund was used leaving Connecticut's electricity conservation fund still top in the nation. Clean Water Action continues to work to restore money to these programs.
Electricity Deregulation Bill - Clean Water Action and allies worked to pass a bill to update CT's electricity deregulation law to increase the amount of renewable energy supplied in the state and to ensure that trash incineration and other dirty forms of generation are not reclassified and subsidized as "Class I" clean energy.
2002
Sooty Six Clean-Up - In May 2002, Connecticut residents won a five-year campaign to clean up Connecticut's six dirtiest oil and coal-fired power plants. Through a successful grassroots coalition and citizen mobilization campaign, the Sooty Six coalition led the state to adopt stricter emission standards on power plant pollution.
In April 2002, the Connecticut legislature passed HB 5209: An Act Concerning Reducing Sulfur Dioxide Emissions at Power Plants, and on May 2 2002, Governor Rowland signed the bill into law. This bill required the Sooty Six power plants and other in the state to adhere to the same pollution restrictions for sulfur dioxide emissions as newer power plants, and a bill the following year dramatically reduced mercury pollution from these plants.
Clean Water Action will continue to lead the Sooty Six coalition by remaining vigilant about any state or national activities that could hinder the implementation of the power plant clean up. Please visit our Sooty Six Campaign page for the history of the campaign.
Reducing Mercury in Products - Clean Water Action and allies made Connecticut the second state in the nation to reduce mercury used in products, thereby reducing the amount that will be incinerated and emitted into our environment.
