Our forty-year history of protecting Connecticut and Long Island Sound's land, air, and water has proven very successful with dozens of victories of which we are very proud. Here are brief summaries of what we consider to be our Top Ten. Visit our interactive map to explore all our successes over the years.

 

Lands & Communities

• Kelda Lands - In 2001, CFE formed The Coalition for the Permanent Protection of the Kelda Lands and successfully advocated for the conservation of over 15,000 acres of utility company land. The Kelda Lands are scattered throughout the state; one of the largest parcels–nearly 600 acres in Ansonia and Seymour–is merged with the Naugatuck State Forest.

 

• The Preserve - This land is a treasure for nature lovers. The Preserve is a 1,000-acre coastal forest of dense woods, wetlands, ponds, rivers, fish, and wildlife. It is the last of its kind in southern New England. After a decade and a half of fighting to preserve this beautiful landscape, CFE and our allies are nearing the finish line. The summer of 2014 was an immensily successful one for The Preserve–read more.

 

• Northeast Utilities & NStar Lands - Following years of proceedings, in which CFE and our allies intervened, energy companies NU and Nstar successfully merged with several of our advocated provisions included. The most tangible and exciting outcome is the donation of four land parcels to a land trust for permanent conservation. Of the nearly 1,000 acres, the largest parcel is the 723 acre Skiff Mountain in Sharon.

 

Clean Air & Energy

• Global Warming Solutions Act - In 2008, we worked with state legislators to pass what is now the hallmark of Connecticut's climate plan. The GWSA requires the state to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions to at least 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, and to at least 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050.

 

• Clean Cars Act - In 2004, we advocated for the Clean Cars Act to bring California's strict vehicle emissions standards to Connecticut and help clean our air. A few years later, we supported the creation of a program to label automobiles with an emissions score. Consumer education is critical to combating climate change and with properly-labeled vehicles, car buyers can choose a model that is not only right for them but also right for the environment. 

 

• English Station - In 2003, CFE attorneys defeated Quinnipiac Energy's efforts to reopen the 100-year-old oil burning English Station power plant in New Haven. Quinnipiac Energy had filed a request to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to reopen the plant, which is located in the densely populated, low-income Fair Haven neighborhood.

 

Save the Sound & Clean Water

• Broadwater Liquid Natural Gas Terminal - After four years of working with government leaders, thousands of activists, and scientific experts, CFE & Save the Sound persuaded New York State and the federal government to deny Shell Oil's Broadwater proposal. The massive 20-story natural gas plant would have been built in the middle of Long Island Sound, endangering fish and wildlife, destroying habitat, and limiting public access.

 

• Solvent Recovery Service of Southington - In one of our earliest battles, CFE fought against the contamination of drinking water wells in Southington by the Solvents Recovery Service of New England. CFE's actions resulted in a new state policy requiring the notification of residents when a well is contaminated. The funds from the final settlement have been used on various habitat restoration projects in Southington, including the nine rain gardens Save the Sound and our voluteers built in 2013 and a porous pavement project in Plainville.

 

• The Connecticut Clean Water Fund - For years, the Clean Water Fund lacked proper management and funding. As Connecticut's primary source for clean water projects, this was detrimental for water quality across the state. CFE and Save the Sound joined the Clean Water Investment Coalition in 2006 and worked with legislators to get the fund back on track in 2008.

 

• Bride Brook & West River Restoration - With funding provided by the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act of 2009, Save the Sound's habitat and green projects team completed two of our biggest restoration projects to date. At Bride Brook in East Lyme's Rocky Neck State Park, we replaced two collapsing culverts at the brook's mouth in 2010. Fish passage has since increased sixfold. Along the West River in New Haven, Save the Sound coordinated the replacement three old tides gates with self-regulating ones to restore tidal flow, fish passage, and species diversity. At Edgewood Park, we built a raised boardwalk so park visitors could enjoy the pond, even with the changed tides.