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Commission hears that DEEP may not require Tide Mill Dam repairs after grant rejection
Summary
Commissioners were told a conservation grant for Tide Mill Dam repair was rejected and that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) appears unlikely to require repairs, prompting questions about downstream effects on the mill pond and harbor.
A Fairfield Harbor Management Commission member said on May 19 that a grant application to fund repair of the Tide Mill Dam was not accepted and reported conversations with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection suggesting the agency may not compel repairs.
The update, given by a commission member, said Conservation Director Tim Bishop’s application to the Long Island Sound ecosystems grant program was declined and that DEEP’s current posture, based on recent conversations, is to tolerate dam removal rather than require repairs. "DEEP is not going to enforce any sort of repair of the dam," the commission member said, noting that the agency had not demanded corrective action in similar cases.
Why it matters: commissioners said the dam forms part of the harbor’s historic character and remarked that changes to the dam could alter mill-pond levels, local flow and harbor conditions. The commission does not have regulatory authority over DEEP decisions but has a statutory advisory role and will watch the coastal site plan review and any permit submissions closely.
Commissioners described next steps as monitoring the coastal site plan review and collecting information to determine what effects, if any, the dam’s status will have on harbor conditions and public use. One commissioner suggested private fundraising or nonprofit formation to help underwrite repairs if the town wishes to pursue them; another urged waiting for formal applications and more data before committing funds or staff time.
Public comment at the meeting urged the commission to define baselines (fish, salinity, harbor use) before concluding there is no impact. A resident asked whether earlier gate failures had been the basis for anecdotal observations of no change in the harbor; commissioners said they have not detected measurable changes and recommended involving conservation scientists and DEEP specialists to develop metrics and, if warranted, a study.
The commission did not take formal action at the meeting; members agreed to continue monitoring and to request any relevant documents from town or state agencies before deciding whether to pursue or fund further studies.
