Water supply and watershed
Your Water Bill: New Britain Pays Highest By Income To Mattabassett District
Census Data Shows Sewer Fees Take A Bigger Chunk Out of NB Residents’ Wallets Staff Reports| News Analysis NEW BRITAIN – The City Council received an annual budget report at its May 24th meeting from the Mattabassett District which shows how much the residents of each member city and town pay to the regional sewer […]
Watershed Mining Study Refund Sought by Council
The City Council is seeking a refund from the engineering firm hired as part of Mayor Erin Stewart’s plan to allow strip-mining of drinking watershed land.
Proposal Seeks Refund for Watershed Mining Study
A Council proposal seeks a refund for the study that was part of Stewart’s plan to allow strip-mining on New Britain’s protected drinking watershed land.
Stewart Watershed Mining Plan Slammed by State Commissions
Republican Mayor Erin Stewart’s proposal to allow the strip mining of New Britain’s protecting drinking watershed land was broadly slammed by two key state commissions, the Water Planning Council (WPC) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The two commissions were responding to a state law that required that they provide their recommendations on Stewart’s […]
Two Days Before State Report, Stewart Withdraws Watershed Mining Plan
Just two days before a key state decision regarding Republican Mayor Erin Stewart’s plan to allow strip-mining on New Britain’s protected drinking watershed land, Stewart has withdrawn the proposal. Stewart’s withdrawal of the mining plan comes just before an August 24, 2018 special meeting of the state Water Planning Council (WPC). The WPC has previously been critical […]
“It’s not for sale.” – Council Votes Down Selling Fifteen Acres to Burlington.
The City Council overwhelmingly voted down a proposal to sell fifteen acres of New Britain owned Class 3 watershed land to the town of Burlington, defeating the plan at its July 11, 2018 meeting. The vote is a victory for Protect Our Watersheds CT and others who had opposed the sale. Protect Our Watersheds CT and […]
Apparent Leaky Pipes Arise As Issue in Debate on Mining Plan – Council Considers Hiring Firm to Study.
The City Council is set to consider a resolution to study what the state Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) said is, “what appears to be an increasingly leak-prone water distribution system,” in New Britain. The consultant hired under the resolution would study and offer recommendations on this, “unaccounted water.” On May 25, 2018, the CEQ released their […]
Overwhelming Opposition to Stewart Drinking Watershed Mining Proposal
Huge opposition met Republican Mayor Erin Stewart’s controversial plan to allow strip mining on New Britain drinking watershed land at the public hearing held on June 26, 2018 in front of the City Council and the Board of Water Commissioners. Speaker after speaker spoke in opposition to the plan at a packed hearing in the […]
Hearing on Proposal to Sell 15 Acres of Watershed Land for $276,000 Rescheduled to July 9th
The City Council’s public hearing on a resolution that would authorize Republican Mayor Erin Stewart to sell fifteen acres of Class 3 watershed land owned by the city of New Britain in Burlington has been rescheduled to be on July 9, 2018. The hearing had previously been scheduled for June 5, but it was rescheduled. The resolution, proposed […]
Hearing on Stewart Watershed Strip Mining Plan Set for Jun 26th
The anticipated public hearing on Republican Mayor Erin Stewart’s controversial plan to allow strip mining on New Britain drinking watershed land as been set for June 26, 2018. The hearing will be held at Gaffney Elementary School Auditorium at 322 Slater Road. The hearing is part of a process in state legislation approved at the request […]
Do New Britain Residents Really Need the Proposed “Storage Reservoir”?
Publicly available information may call into question the conclusions in the recently released report done for the city administration of Republican Mayor Erin Stewart by Lenard Engineering, Inc., that justifies the strip mining of protected drinking watershed land by saying that increased demand for water over the next forty years would necessitate a new “storage reservoir” created […]
Study Commissioned by City on Strip Mining Watershed Land Submitted to State
Lenard Engineering, Inc. has completed its report, done for the city administration of Republican Mayor Erin Stewart, as part of a process for the city to request that it be permitted to allow strip mining on New Britain’s protected watershed lands by the Tilcon company. The study was presented to the state Water Planning Council and Council […]
Top 10 of 2017: #4 – Exposing New Britain’s “Watergate”
Many important stories have been covered by the New Britain Progressive in 2017. It may be difficult to name only a few articles as the top stories of the year, but there are a few the New Britain Progressive would like to share as our Top Ten. Other Top Ten stories can be found at […]
City Taps Patton Brook Well For Water After Calling Off Bargain Basement Sale, Hiking Rates To Pay For MDC Water.
By John McNamara More than a year after the Stewart administration and Common Council sought to sell off the Patton Brook Well at an undervalued price of $1 million the unused well is replenishing the Shuttle Meadow reservoir. Mayor Stewart and her Council majority authorized the sale in August 2016, seeking to give up the […]
Presentation July 26th to Discuss Effects of Mining New Britain’s Watershed Forest
Protect Our Watersheds CT will hold a presentation on “What’s at stake if New Britain’s watershed forest is harmed”. The presentation, featuring Dr. Richard Judd and Atty. Paul Zagorsky, will be held at the Community Room in the lower level of the New Britain Public Library on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 6:30pm. Protect Our […]
The Web of Watershed Mining
Records show that key players in the proposal by Republican Mayor Erin Stewart to allow the Tilcon company to strip-mine New Britain drinking watershed land are tied together, behind the scenes, in a network of business and other relationships. Tilcon, the company that is seeking a long-term deal, in which it would be permitted to […]
Stewart Water Fee Increase Debate Deepens
In the debate around Republican Mayor Erin Stewart’s plan to increase water rates, despite her promise not to increase taxes, Democratic Ald. Manny Sanchez (D-3) has responded to the Republican mayor’s defense of her proposal. Stewart has cited ongoing water infrastructure projects, decreasing revenues and that water rates have not increased recently as reasons for […]
Ald. Sanchez Advocates Against Stewart Water Rate Increase
Democratic Ald. Manny Sanchez (D-3) is pressing Republican Mayor Erin Stewart and the Republican dominated City Council to not to increase water rates. “As locally elected officials, we have a duty to act in a fiscally responsible manner,” Sanchez said in a letter to Stewart. “This includes ensuring that our constituents do not incur unnecessary […]
Increases in Water and Sewer Charges Planned
The Republican-dominated City Council will consider two separate plans on May 24th, submitted by the administration of Republican Mayor Erin Stewart, to increase the amount city residents will pay in water and sewer fees. The proposal for water charges would increase the fee for city water from $27.82 per thousand cubic foot of water used in […]
Amid Growing Questions and a Democratic Resolution, Stewart and Council Republicans Abandon Patton Brook Sale
In the wake of mounting questions about why Republican Mayor Erin Stewart sold the Patton Brook Well while the city knew it was facing significant drought conditions, and a City Council resolution, originally offered by the three Democratic Council members, to revoke the sale, the Republican mayor and the Council’s Republicans are abandoning her plan to sell […]