DEEP posts tentative approval for Manresa Island stewardship permit; commissions prepare to review remedial plans

At the Shellfish Commission meeting, commission members discussed the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) recent posting of a tentative determination to approve a stewardship permit for remediation work at Manresa Island. A commission member said the DEEP’s notice is on its website and the public-comment period runs through Oct. 30; DEEP will hold a public informational meeting Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. followed by a public hearing at 8 p.m., the member said.

Commissioners said the stewardship permit establishes responsibilities and timing for remediation but does not prescribe the specific means and methods; those details will appear in subsequent remedial action plans. The commission emphasized it will review the remedial action plans for potential impacts to marine sediments and shellfish resources. “DEEP assured us that…the stewardship permit will require the owner, the applicant to look at the marine sediments and to mitigate any contamination that might be found,” a commission member said.

The commission noted historical evidence that Manresa Island’s peninsula is surrounded by natural shellfish beds, citing an 1889 map of natural beds; members said they will engage with DEEP’s process, the Harbor Management Commission’s application-review committee, and other stakeholders before the DEEP comment period closes. The commission expects to discuss the site at its September meeting and again after DEEP’s public hearings in October.

No formal motions or votes were taken by the Shellfish Commission during the meeting because it lacked a quorum; members described planned review and public-comment activities rather than taking regulatory action at the meeting.