LWVCT Urges Restored Funding for Department of Environmental Protection 3/20/08
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To: Rep. Denise Merrill, C-Chair, Appropriations Committee Sen. Toni Harp, Co-Chair, Appropriations Committee
Re: Increased Funding for DEP
Date: March 20, 2008
The League of Women Voters of Connecticut, a statewide organization with over 2400 members, strongly supports protecting Connecticut’s air, land and water.
The League urges you to support a $5 million increase in funding for Department of Environmental Protection operations. This $5 million investment will put the DEP on the path to provide consistent enforcement of environmental laws that protect our health, our air, water and lands; reduce polluted runoff; help local wetlands commissions respond to growing development pressure; and maintain and protect our public parks, wildlife and forests.
Over the years, DEP has been decimated by years of budget neglect. The just-published Council on Environmental Quality report entitled Dreams Deferred? notes, “The DEP employs about 1,000 people, the same as in 1988. The three big changes over those two decades are 1) The park system has expanded, 2) the Department has been charged with dozens of new responsibilities, with very few reductions in responsibilities, and 3) Appropriations of General Fund dollars have become a much smaller source of money for the DEP. …Remarkably, the General Fund appropriation for the DEP in FY 2007, when adjusted for inflation, was below the General Fund appropriation for FY 1972.” (Dreams Deferred – Clean Waters, Vital Parks, Green Lands and Efficiency and Sustainability: An Assessment of the Cost of Attaining Connecticut’s Goals for State Parks and Environmental Protection pp.22-23)
The lack of adequate funding has harmed our environment and the quality of life for Connecticut residents. Please act now to increase funding and allow DEP to increase its staff to protect our natural resources and plan for the future.
Thank you for your consideration.
Karen Burnaska Director, Natural Resources League of Women Voters of Connecticut (203) 261-9243
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