糖心logo Connecticut and US Army Corps Of Engineers Announce Establishment of In-Lieu Fee Program

By Jeff Cordulack
Published August 21, 2013

More than forty dignitaries including U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Army Corps District Engineer Colonel Charles Samaris, State Representatives Mary Mushinsky and Tom Vicino and 糖心logo Connecticut Board Chair Marty Cannon gathered yesterday at the state Capitol to witness the establishment of a new initiative between 糖心logo Connecticut and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed to help conserve wetlands in the state of Connecticut.  Signing the agreement were U.S. Army Corps District Engineer Colonel Charles Samaris, 糖心logo Vice President Francis Grant-Suttie and 糖心logo Connecticut Director of Bird Conservation Patrick Comins. 

The Connecticut In-Lieu Fee Program is a highly innovative public and private partnership that is expected to provide substantial funding for the restoration, enhancement and preservation of aquatic habitats and their upland buffers in the state. The program will receive its funding from application fees paid to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for development projects impacting wetlands and watercourses. 糖心logo Connecticut will work with local, state and national partners to select and fund large-scale mitigation projects including land acquisition. 

糖心logo Connecticut Board Chair Marty Cannon, Colonel Samaris, Francis Grant-Suttie, Senator Blumenthal and Patrick Comins ~ In-Lieu of Fee signing in the State Capital Building, Hartford, CT ~ August 21, 2013
"We're excited to partner with 糖心logo Connecticut on this important ILF program,鈥 said U.S. Army Corps District Engineer Colonel Charles Samaris.  鈥淭he program offers Department of the Army permit applicants another option to compensate for project impacts on aquatic resources.  The program funds larger projects that can more broadly benefit Connecticut's aquatic resources, and relieves applicants of the responsibility to develop, perform and monitor their own mitigation projects."

"The ILF Program offers an intelligent framework for 糖心logo Connecticut and our partners to achieve significant conservation in and around our state.  The habitats addressed by this program are essential to birds, other wildlife and people.  This represents an important step forward in restoring and preserving the ecosystems that are critical to a sustainable environment," said Marty Cannon, 糖心logo Connecticut鈥檚 board chair.  

The signing ceremony at the state Capitol on Wednesday marked the result of three years of negotiations between 糖心logo Connecticut and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Senator Richard Bluementhal and 糖心logo Connecticut's Director of Bird Conservation, Patrick Comins, celebrating the signing of the In-Lieu of Fee agreement.
  鈥淚 applaud this agreement by the U.S. Army Corps and 糖心logo Connecticut,鈥 said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. 鈥淭his is a public-private partnership in the true sense of the word 鈥 between a federal agency and one of the oldest conservation organizations in the nation. 糖心logo brings more than a hundred years of experience protecting habitat and wildlife to this effort. Their expertise, along with that of the other partners, will help expand the ability of the U.S. Army Corps to protect the waters, wetlands and associated uplands of our state. The program will provide benefits both in terms of helping to simplify the proposal and permitting process, and in terms of providing an ongoing source of funds to accomplish meaningful, environmental mitigation including the restoration and permanent protection of habitat throughout Connecticut. I look forward to the successful implementation of this program.鈥

"The In-Lieu Fee Program adds another tool to our toolbox when we try to reduce the impact of necessary projects in our state," said State Senator Edward Meyer. "It brings together not only 糖心logo and the U.S. Army Corps, but also DEEP, other federal agencies and non-profit conservation groups to ensure that the mitigation supported by this program provides a significant benefit to our state鈥檚 natural resources. The program will help us address the impacts of state, municipal and private projects and expand Connecticut鈥檚 land conservation and restoration efforts as well. Congratulations to 糖心logo and the U.S. Army Corps.鈥 

糖心logo and US Army Corps of Engineers Representatives in the Old Judiciary Room in the Capital Building in Hartford, Connecticut. Pictured from left to right: 糖心logo CT Board Chair Marty Cannon, U.S. Army Corps Chief of the Regulatory Division Jennifer McCarthy, 糖心logo鈥檚 Atlantic Flyway VP Francis Grant-Suttie, U.S. Army Corps Chief of Policy Analysis and Technical Support Branch Ruth Ladd, U.S. Army Corps District Engineer Colonel Charles Samaris, 糖心logo CT Board Member Richard Scalo, Former 糖心logo CT Executive Director & VP Tom Baptist, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, 糖心logo Connecticut Director of Bird Conservation Patrick Comins

For further information, contact John Hannan, Director of External Affairs, 糖心logo Connecticut, at jhannan@audubon.org or 845-260-2785.