Bridgeport flooding project in limbo as officials wait for formal notification of Trump cuts

Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT — A month after the federal government announced it is eliminating a grant program needed to fund a years-in-the-making South End anti-flooding project, state officials overseeing that massive infrastructure effort are still awaiting further details.

"We have not received any formal cancellation memorandum or documentation," Graham Stevens, head of Connecticut's Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse, said in an interview Thursday. "As far as we know, we haven't actually received anything formal from the federal government other than the news release."

"We've asked for additional information. We've asked for guidance on how we can proceed here," said Kenneth Dumais, hazard mitigation officer with the state's emergency management department, who joined Stevens in speaking with The Connecticut Post. "We are in a 'sit and wait' mode right now."

He added, "To the best of my knowledge we do not have a method of appeal at this point. No appeal method has been identified."

In response to the water damage Superstorm Sandy wrought on the coastal South End over 12 years ago, the Resilient Bridgeport infrastructure initiative was launched with an initial $40 million in federal aid, and was set to receive an additional $47.5 million. That latter amount is the money currently in jeopardy.

The extensive plan, which officials say is some 90 percent designed, calls for installation of a storm water pump station, flood walls and street elevations to protect lives and property, and also enable revitalization of the diverse, lower-income neighborhood. The area includes old industrial sites, electrical infrastructure, homes and apartment buildings, the University of Bridgeport's campus and a major attraction in Seaside Park.

Stevens confirmed that without Resilient Bridgeport in place, developers have a difficult time securing any state subsidies unless they include costly flood mitigation and evacuation measures in their individual designs.

"The idea is the state wants to invest its funding in places where people will be safe," Stevens said.

Though deemed a priority, the Resilient Bridgeport planning process, which has involved the state departments of housing, energy/environmental protection and emergency management, has been slow while costs have risen. In response, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, a year ago helped secure a $47.5 million grant from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program to supplement that original $40 million. BRIC is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Then, on April 4, President Donald Trump's administration abruptly announced the cancellation of BRIC via a FEMA press release that criticized the program as "wasteful" and "politicized." No evidence of such was offered, nor did FEMA outline whether its staff had first performed a thorough cost-benefit analysis to analyze Resilient Bridgeport or any other BRIC awardees nationwide.

However, part of Resilient Bridgeport's stated mission was a response to the perils of climate change. Trump has previously called human-caused climate change a "hoax."

Himes' office Thursday forwarded an April 15 letter he and several colleagues sent the Trump administration, which notes it was during Trump's first tenure in the White House that Congress established BRIC "to invest in pre-disaster mitigation and strengthen community resiliency to respond to natural disasters that are increasing in frequency and severity."

The letter goes on to call BRIC's cancellation "unlawful," and asks for a specific list of impacted projects.

"We have yet to receive a response," said a Himes' staffer.

Rather than provide insight into any additional communications to be disseminated following the April 4 press release, a FEMA spokesperson contacted for this article responded that BRIC "was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americas affected by natural disasters" but again provided no specifics.

Stevens said were the $47.5 million available, there are still major steps to be taken before breaking ground on Resilient Bridgeport. For example, some of the infrastructure will be installed on private property.

"We'd have to work with all the affected property owners to ensure we have the legal rights in place to build," he said. "Then we'd need to prepare bid documents and go out to bid (for contractors)."

The loss of the $47.5 million might also possibly jeopardize what remains of the initial $40 million awarded Resilient Bridgeport. Stevens said roughly $9 million of that earlier amount of federal assistance has so far been drawn down during the design process. And while on the face of it that leaves a $30 million or so balance to start to construct some of Resilient Bridgeport, Stevens indicated that may not be an option.

"The federal government would not authorize the state to move forward with half-measures because those wouldn't be able to protect the community in a way the more comprehensive project was designed to do," he said.

"Maybe there is a way to make some of (Resilient Bridgeport) work, but right now that's a hope," Dumais said. "We don't have any solid information at this point."

Dan Onofrio, president of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, has been frustrated with the slow pace of Resilient Bridgeport. But he also believes it is necessary and should be completed.

"From a business perspective, an economic development perspective, 100 percent there needs to be a way to address the (flooding) issue and Resilient Bridgeport was that conduit," he said. "I don't like the approach that this (Trump) administration has had with just doing broad-stroke, killing things off without doing at least a little due diligence. ... There's a clear, visible issue we have in Bridgeport and we need to come up with a way to resolve it."

CT joins 19-state effort against Trump opposition to offshore wind energy

Edmund H. Mahony

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined 18 other attorneys general in a lawsuit filed Monday that seeks to prevent continuing efforts by the Trump administration to block the development of offshore wind energy.

Trump has moved to shut down renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, as expensive and unreliable, while supporting expansion of fossil fuel development. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for all wind projects. Since then he has blocked projects off New York and New Jersey.

“This is yet another lawless effort by Donald Trump to enrich the fossil fuel industry and illegally micromanage state business. Connecticut has the right to secure our energy future, and one that makes the most sense for our costs and climate,” Tong said Monday after the federal suit was filed in Boston.

New England’s power industry supports offshore energy development and opposes administration efforts to block it.

“Large-scale offshore wind development is hardwired into electric reliability planning for New England,” said Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association. “I am hopeful that the projects under construction and committed in the market will come online soon to deliver reliability benefits for the region.”

“Every energy source has its challenges, be they cost, emissions, land-use, scale, or technological,” he said. “Without offshore wind, New England’s energy choices narrow significantly over the next decade with difficult future choices as electricity demand continues to rise.”

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Late last year, Gov. Ned Lamont shocked neighboring states when he decided to step away from a three-state, offshore energy buy as too expensive. He said Connecticut would concentrate its decarbonization efforts, at least over the short term, in solar and energy storage projects.

The decision left Connecticut with one offshore wind contract — an agreement to buy power, with Rhode Island, from Revolution Wind, which is under construction south of Block Island by Danish multinational Orsted. The project will provide 304 megawatts of energy to Connecticut and 400 megawatts to Rhode Island, enough energy to power more than 350,000 homes in both states.

Orsted, a major player in offshore wind, was a substantial investor in the $300 million reconstruction of the state pier in New London, which was redesigned as a support hub for offshore construction.

The attorneys general allege in their suit the Trump executive order hurts state efforts to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet their increasing demand for electricity and help reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, meet clean energy goals, and address climate change.

The administration’s opposition to wind also threatens significant investment already made in wind industry infrastructure, supply chains, and workforce development — investments the state’s claim are already in the billions of dollars.

In filing this lawsuit, the attorneys general are asking the court to declare the president’s directive illegal and prevent the administration from taking any action to delay or prevent wind energy development.

Trump’s hostility to offshore wind has exacerbated serious financial problems that predated his election by more than a year. Supply chain and interest rate problems caused delays, steep price hikes and led to project failures.

Department of Transportation is latest federal agency expecting layoffs

Kris van Cleave Grahm Kates

Employees at the Department of Transportation are bracing for layoffs, as part of the Trump administration's effort to cut the federal workforce.

During a town hall meeting last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed DOT employees that the layoffs — referred to as reduction in force, or RIF — are expected soon, DOT officials confirm to CBS News.

An employee attending the town hall said Duffy did not offer specifics about which agencies or employees would be affected. The Department of Transportation said the final number of cuts would depend on how many employees first take a buyout offer. 

The cuts could happen as soon as the end of the month.  

The buyout offer, referred to as a deferred resignation program, allows workers to receive pay and benefits for several months if they agree to resign. Multiple federal agencies have made large-scale buyout offers as part of President Trump's effort to dramatically scale back the size of the federal government.

Duffy has promised the DOT's workforce cuts won't affect airline safety. Duffy became Transportation Secretary amid two high-profile airline crashes, including a midair collision in January over the Potomac River in Washington that left 67 dead.

On May 1, Duffy announced plans to boost air traffic controller recruiting. The announcement came as Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the country's largest and busiest hubs, experienced an onslaught of delays and canceled flights.

Blaming staffing shortages, equipment malfunctions and system outages, the DOT's Federal Aviation Administration issued several ground delays and ground stops at the New Jersey airport. 

Arriving flights at the airport, located near New York City, have been delayed as long as six hours, while departures faced nearly four-hour delays. The FAA and the union representing air traffic controllers said Tuesday that multiple members are on trauma leave due to the equipment failure that caused them to lose communication with pilots.

Plan to build 110-room hotel, 250 apartments on site of old Fairfield hotel gets approved

Michael Juliano

Alarge-scale proposal to demolish an 80-room hotel in Fairfield and replace it with a 110-room hotel and a 250-unit apartment building has been approved.

Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners in December proposed razing the Circle Hotel Fairfield, at 441 Post Road, and constructing the two massive, four-story structures on the 8-acre site.

The hotel will contain 59,148 square feet of space, while the apartment building will house 256,568 square feet, according to an application filed with the town. Of the 250 apartments, 12% will be deemed affordable.

The proposal includes building a 473-space parking garage and 65 parking spaces from the Circle Diner, which will remain at its current location adjacent to the site.

The apartment building will have 36 studios averaging 560 square feet; 150, one-bedroom units averaging 785 square feet; and 64, two-bedroom units averaging 1,176 square feet, the application said.

Plans also call for a “robust landscape plan” that would include over 280 trees, 430 shrubs, and many hundred more perennials and grasses, the application stated.

The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the plan with a 5-2 vote on Tuesday night.