Seaside Meeting 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24

August 22, 2016

The Departments of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and Administrative Services (DAS), will hold a public scoping meeting on Wednesday, August 24 at 7 p.m. in the Waterford Town Hall Auditorium, 15 Rope Ferry Road in Waterford.

The public scoping meeting is part of 30-day public comment period on the Seaside Master Plan and is the first step in completion of a required Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE) for the Seaside project.

DEEP’s Bureau of Outdoor Recreation is proposing to implement the Seaside State Park Master Plan, designed to transform the former Seaside Regional Center site into a 32-acre State park. The Master Plan explored and identified three potential State Park concepts, known as Destination Park, Passive Park and Ecological Park. Public input shaped the preferred Master Plan, which combines elements of all three concepts.

The preferred Master Plan includes:

  • State park lodge featuring renovation of historic buildings, sun decks and restaurant
  • Living shoreline restoration of oyster reef and wildlife habitat restoration
  • Nature trail linking wildlife viewing areas
  • Landscape art installations
  • Fishing pier
  • Kayak launch
  • Repaired seawall
  • Low maintenance lawns

    • The Master Plan has identified a modified version of the Destination Park concept as a preferred option. It is expected, however, that the EIE will evaluate all three initial concepts.

    Under the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA) an EIE must be conducted for certain projects involving state funding. The EIE is intended to analyze environmental impacts that may be created by a project, and steps that could be taken to address them. The EIE process starts with a scoping meeting, which is focused on outlining the issues that should be examined in the EIE. The meeting is designed to gather this input, as opposed to discussing detailed information about the project.

    DAS and DEEP expect to release the Seaside EIE in late 2016 or early 2017.

    To view the Scoping Notice with a link to the Master Plan visit this website:
    http://www.ct.gov/ceq/Monitor

    Written comments from the public are welcomed and will be accepted until the close of business on Thursday, September 1, 2016.

    Written comments should be sent to:

    Name: David A. Kalafa, Policy Development Coordinator
    Agency: Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
    Address: 79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    Fax: 860-424-4070
    E-Mail: [email protected]