Area Towns Uniting to Fight Phosphorus Removal Requirements

Southington has joined forces with leadership in Meriden, Cheshire and Wallingford in an effort to reduce the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's phosphorus requirements.

Southington officials met with leadership from the three other communities late last week to talk with DEEP Commission Daniel Esty in an effort to reduce those requirements.

"It's an expensive requirement and one that is not fair to place on towns in this economy," Brumback said during an interview earlier this year.

Brumback has said that moving the requirement from 0.2 parts per million to 0.7 parts per million would limit costs significantly and push the cost to the town from $20 million or more to just $50,000.

The presentation last week did little to curb concerns, Cheshire Town Manager Michael Malone told the Record-Journal in an interview late last week:

“I don’t think they’re at all convinced,” he said Thursday. “The state is pretty firm on their phosphorus regulations.”

DEEP officials have maintained that the do not set the requirements, which were instead established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. DEEP staff said the EPA wanted levels at 0.1 parts per million, but that has already been granted leniency.

For more information, to see an in-depth story that looks at the specific requirements and how the town will move forward to combat them.