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Advisory member: Norwalk River watershed draft omits Norwalk Harbor and needs clearer stormwater and resiliency language
Summary
Advisory member Jeff Stedman told the Shellfish Commission the draft Norwalk River Watershed plan omits a description of Norwalk Harbor and uses an aerial image of the Saugatuck River by mistake; he urged adding harbor/estuary content, stronger stormwater controls and clearer resiliency language.
At the May 7 meeting of the Norwalk Shellfish Commission, advisory member Jeff Stedman urged commissioners to press for a revised Norwalk River Watershed plan that more fully represents Norwalk Harbor and the harbor’s estuary environment.
Stedman said he reviewed the draft and found no description of Norwalk Harbor; he also said the draft included an aerial photograph of the Saugatuck River rather than the Norwalk River. "In that draft, there's no description of Norwalk Harbor," Stedman said, adding that the photograph used appears to show the Saugatuck River rather than the Norwalk River.
Stedman recommended the plan include explicit language ensuring development goals do not supersede environmental conservation objectives, stronger stormwater management for highway infrastructure to avoid directing runoff straight into the river, and clearer definitions of resiliency. He said the Harbor and Shellfish commissions helped establish the watershed initiative in 1997 and continue to play a role in shaping its update.
He also reported on related regional matters: concerns about added impervious surfaces from a Merritt 7 project and the potential downstream effects on the Norwalk River; federal dredging plans for Bridgeport and Black Rock harbors that will produce large volumes of dredged material, much of it contaminated, and an approach using confined aquatic disposal (CAD) cells; and ongoing remediation reviews (including tidal-flat sediment studies) for sites such as the Army engine plant and the Manresa Island area. Stedman said remediation under stewardship permits will require public-engagement plans, and he said he will prepare written bullet points summarizing his suggestions for distribution to the commission and staff.
No formal motion or vote was taken on the watershed comments; Stedman agreed to supply bullet points for the commission’s consideration and possible public comment when the draft is released.
