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Rivers Alliance of Connecticut www.riversalliance.org recently honored State Representative Mary Mushinsky of Wallingford (D-85) and State Representative Jonathan Steinberg of Westport (D-136) as “2019 Environmental Champions” at the Alliance’s Annual Meeting on December 11, 2019.The lawmakers were honored for their long-standing commitment to environmental and water issues. Representatives Mushinsky and Steinberg were instrumental in the approval by the Connecticut General Assembly of Connecticut’s first State Water Plan during the 2018-2019 legislative session.
The Plan was prepared “to help planners, regulators, and lawmakers make decisions about managing Connecticut’s water in a manner that is consistent throughout the state with stakeholder-defined principles and available scientific data.”
“The efforts of State Representatives Mushinsky and Steinberg throughout the process, development, and ultimate approval of the Plan have been significant and consistent even prior to the 2014 enactment of Public Act 14-163 directing the Water Planning Council to develop the Plan,” said Dwight Merriam, President of Rivers Alliance of Connecticut.
Rep. Mushinsky has often been described as the “Godmother of Water” in Connecticut. She has represented the 85th District in the state legislature since 1980 and has long been known as a stalwart for the environment, particularly on water issues.
Rep. Mushinsky served for six years as co-chair of the legislature's Environment Committee. A biologist by training, Rep. Mushinsky has been the chief proponent in the Connecticut legislature of major environmental legislation enacted during the 1980s and 1990s, including mandatory recycling, packaging reduction, open-space preservation, global warming mitigation and endangered species protection laws.
Rep. Steinberg has represented the 136th district in Westport since 2010 and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Public Health Committee. Rep. Steinberg has consistently demonstrated his understanding of the inextricable link between environmental health and human health and that Connecticut’s citizens cannot be protected if the State’s natural resources are under constant threat from poor decision making, misuse, and pollution.
He was a leader in the effort to enact legislation protecting the health and safety of Connecticut citizens by addressing the threats posed by fracking waste. He helped craft the law which imposed a moratorium on the processing, storage and disposal of hydraulic fracturing waste from other states until the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection promulgates effective regulations. He is now leading the fight to establish an outright ban on fracking waste.
“Rivers Alliance, along with many other citizen, conservation, and environmental organizations, is grateful to these public servants for their outspoken defense of the public’s demand that Connecticut’s long-standing policy that water is held in trust by the State for all of its citizens be included in the Plan,” Merriam said. “Both were tenacious in resisting attempts to remove this declaration, ensuring that it remained in the Plan despite fierce opposition from certain industries and industry groups.”
Contact Info:
Name: Chris Cooper
Email: Send Email
Organization: Rivers Alliance
Phone: 860-836-7491
Website: http://www.riversalliance.org/
Release ID: 88939644
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