A public hearing on the Long Island Sound Blue Plan Resource and Use Inventory will take place at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Marine Headquarters, 333 Ferry Road, Old Lyme on May 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Conference Room Building 3.
The Blue Plan is a marine spatial planning process for Long Island Sound that was authorized by Connecticut Public Act 15-66. The intent of the Blue Plan is to plan and account for both the existing human uses of the Sound and the habitats and natural resources needed for marine life to thrive in the Sound. Doing so will help ensure that: the existing human uses and the habitats and natural resources and features of the Sound are protected and that any new and existing uses of the Sound will be compatible with each other and with the Sound’s habitats and natural resources.
The Long Island Sound Resource and Use Inventory has been under development for more than two years and contains 12 ecological and 13 human use chapters in its 294 pages. Connecticut Sea Grant has played a major role in the development of the document. As specified in the the statute, the inventory has been overseen by a Long Island Sound Inventory and Science Subcommittee convened by the University of Connecticut. The document provides information on the current state of the Sound’s natural resources and human uses, all based on existing data available to the Subcommittee, and is the first step in drafting the Blue Plan for Long Island Sound. Ultimately, the inventory will be used as the basis for developing Blue Plan policies to minimize future conflicts with these resources and uses.
Information about the inventory can be found at: http://www.ct.gov/deep/lisblueplaninventory. Other Blue Plan information is available at: http://www.ct.gov/deep/lisblueplan.
The success of the Blue Plan depends on the involvement of the general public and all stakeholders to make sure the plan reflects the knowledge, perspectives and needs of everyone whose lives are touched by Long Island Sound. Interested parties are invited to review and comment on the Draft Inventory and any other Blue Plan-related topics. Please submit written comments to: Blue Plan Inventory, Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, 79 Elm St., Hartford, CT 06106-5127; or by email to: DEEP.BluePlanLIS@ct.gov on or before May 23, 2018.
Questions may be directed to David Blatt at: (860) 424-3610 or to: DEEP.BluePlanLIS@ct.gov.