Environmental Groups Attack Governor’s 'Plan B'

While Governor Malloy continues to negotiate with state employee 
unions for $2 billion in concessions, his budget chief has come up
with a contingency plan to balance the budget. It’s known as “Plan B”.

As WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports, Plan B proposes cutting more than 20% 
of the new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the 
entire staff at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Without the Experiment Station, there would be no surveillance
of mosquitoes for the deadly West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis 
viruses. And no inspectors to certify the export of plants out of 
state, a big part of Connecticut’s nursery business.

The proposed cuts at the state’s environmental agency would reduce 
funding for cleaning up oil and toxic spills, close all state fish 
hatcheries that stock trout for anglers and cut funding for issuing 
and enforcing environmental permits. It would also significantly 
reduce the number of summer state park workers. 19 environmental 
groups are speaking out against Plan B. Roger Reynolds of the 
Connecticut Fund for the Environment says it would result in massive 
park closings and reduce enforcement of pollution laws.

“This would really cripple the agency and make it incapable, we 
believe, of performing its most basic functions. And this could have 
consequences, such as there might be law suits filed because of our 
inability to enforce the clean water act with this level of staff.”

The plan also calls for eliminating state funding for Operation Fuel, 
a program that helps low income families pay for heat and electricity.

The Governor has until the end this month to find $2 Billion dollars 
in savings.

For WNPR I’m Nancy Cohen.