March 9, 2009

Dear Members of the Legislature's Environment Committee:

We respectfully ask that you OPPOSE SEVERAL WETLANDS BILLS that would further hinder the real estate market's recovery. Those bills are SB 569, HB 5461, and HB 5820. Existing laws and regulatory programs provide abundant protection to Connecticut's marshes, bogs, wetlands and other water courses. Between government flood plain management programs, grants for greenways, nonpoint source pollution prevention, and the demanding rules of wetlands agencies themselves, nothing is left to chance.

Senate Bill 569 and House Bill 5461 are similar to an ill-fated proposal from last year. They would upset the carefully balanced "factors for consideration" an agency uses to grant, deny, or limit an application for development. House Bill 5820 extends the reach of wetlands agencies to undetermined distances beyond the wetland in considering an owner's impact on "natural vegetation".

Coming on the heels of the Environment Committee's 21-6 vote authorizing a new tax on home buyers, these measurers send just the OPPOSITE signal needed to turn the housing market around. Congress and the President clearly saw the need for unlocking the market by enacting an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. We urge you to work in consonance with them.

Thank you for your consideration.


Tim Calnen
Vice President of Government Affairs