A proposal for a massive expansion to a gas pipeline that goes through CT is drawing opposition

ALISON CROSS 

For the last five years, Sena Wazer has fought climate change, but the 20-year-old environmental activist’s latest battle hits closer to home than ever before.

“As a young person, it constantly feels like I’m watching my future go up in flames,” Wazer said.

The natural gas pipeline that runs a street down from Wazer’s family home in Mansfield is part of a proposed 1,131-mile expansion of the Algonquin Gas Transmission line.

The proposal, known as Project Maple, would raise the natural gas-carrying capacity of the pipeline, which bisects Connecticut and extends into New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Enbridge, the Canadian-based energy company behind the project, said in documents that the expansion will increase the reliability of the Northeast’s power grid, stabilize gas prices, and support “New England’s continued journey to Net Zero.”

Wazer called the proposal “a slap in the face,” from Enbridge but also the federal commissions, state agencies and governors who have not opposed the project.

“The science is very clear that we need to be rapidly moving off of fossil fuel infrastructure. But instead here we are expanding it in a way that prolongs our reliance,” Wazer said. “I want them to know that young folks are watching and this is our future that they’re deciding whether or not to sacrifice in the name of profit.”

Wazer is part of a growing grassroots coalition in Connecticut that emerged in opposition to Project Maple. Through protest and advocacy, the multistate movement hopes to compel federal policymakers and state leaders to adhere to climate goals and block Enbridge’s expansion.

According to documents from Enbridge, the company anticipates that Project Maple, which could process an extra 249 to 499 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in some locations, could go online “as early as November 2029.”

The expansion would include an overhaul of existing pipeline infrastructure in order to increase its carrying volume. Expected renovations in the documents include replacing smaller diameter pipes with larger ones, laying new transmission lines besides existing infrastructure, and expanding compressor stations along the route.

Max Bergeron, an Enbridge spokesperson, said the company remains “very early in the process and plan to finalize the project scope and schedule.”

He said Enbridge initiated Project Maple in response to grid reliability concerns increased demand “from gas utilities and power generators” along the Algonquin Gas Transmission system.

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has held technical conferences which have highlighted the power grid reliability concerns the region continues to face, and Project Maple is one solution which seeks to meet the need for reliable access to fuel for power generation, in addition to supporting growing demand from gas utilities,” Bergeron said in a statement to the Courant.

On paper, the prospect of a natural gas expansion appears at odds with the Northeast region’s ambitious climate goals. With the exception of New Hampshire, each New England state has set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions economywide by 2050, according to ISO New England.

Connecticut is uniquely legislated to maintain a carbon-free electric grid by 2040.

Currently, Connecticut consumes more natural gas than any other energy source. In 2023 natural gas-fired power plants accounted for 60% of all electricity generated in the state, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

But Paul Coppleman, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said in a statement to the Courant that the state’s “electricity supply is already 73% carbon free.”

“The Lamont Administration’s strategy is to provide clean, affordable, and reliable energy to the residents and businesses of Connecticut, and to achieve our state’s statutory target of 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2040,” Copleman said. “Achieving the 2040 target will require bringing additional new carbon-free energy online as well as ensuring that existing carbon-free resources, like nuclear, continue to operate.”

In December, more than 90 climate and environmental justice groups sent Gov. Ned Lamont and the leaders of other impacted states a letter opposing Project Maple.

The letter urged the governors to oppose the expansion publicly, demand “strict adherence and enforcement of all climate laws and regulation,” and “deny all permits to Project Maple.”

In response to activists’ action, Lamont’s Senior Press Secretary David Bednarz said in a statement to the Courant that “The governor appreciates their outreach and will take their feedback into consideration.”

Environmental groups in Connecticut have also called on DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes to deny all state permits for the Project Maple Expansion.

“DEEP is aware of the early-stage efforts exploring additional natural gas pipeline infrastructure that would potentially service Connecticut customers and transport gas through the state,” Paul Copleman said. “As no application has been submitted to DEEP, it would be premature to comment on the project.”

Nick Katkevich, the Northeast field organizer for the Sierra Club, said that this kind of preemptive action is part of the coalition’s strategy to block Project Maple.

In order for Enbridge to proceed with the expansion, Project Maple must first receive a green light from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – an agency that Katkevich said “seldom rejects fossil fuel projects.”

But, even if Project Maple passes this stage, Katkevich said he is confident that the coalition can block the project through information campaigns, letter writing, protest, public hearings and other actions that will get state and federal officials, and the public, to adopt their cause.

“If they [Enbridge] are wanting to expand compressor stations, they’re going to need air permits from all the state agencies. And if they’re crossing waterways, they might need waterway permits as well,” Katkevich said. “There’s lots of opportunities to stop this project.”

“This is just the beginning of this coordinated regional resistance,” Katekevich added. “I think what’s on our side is really shifting the narrative from top to bottom politically in the region against this project.”

Enbridge argues that Project Maple would benefit the Northeast.

“Greater access to reliable, affordable natural gas supplies can help lower energy costs for consumers in New England, help address well-known energy reliability concerns, and help prevent the use of higher-emitting fuels during high energy-demand periods such as during the winter,” Bergeron said.

According to a forecast from ISO New England released in June, the demand for electricity in the region is expected to grow 2.3% each year through 2032, with winter peak demand projected at a 2.9% annual increase

In documents, Enbridge said that as the demand for solar and wind energy grows, so will the need for natural gas to “offset the supply gaps” during peak demand periods that coincide with a decrease in renewable energy productivity.

Enbridge said that “pipeline infrastructure has played a critical role in the emissions reduction success New England has achieved to date,” and that the Project Maple expansion would be “supporting New England’s continued journey to Net Zero.”

Martha Klein, a Connecticut resident who serves as the lead organizer of Stop Project Maple for the Sierra Club, described Enbridge’s net zero claims as “Orwellian.”

While natural gas is often touted as the “cleaner” alternative to its fossil fuel counterparts due to its comparatively low carbon dioxide emissions, Klein said that any potential benefits to the earth’s atmosphere are offset by methane leaks.

“You are accelerating climate change at an even worse pace than if you were burning coal or oil because of fugitive methane emissions,” Klein said.

Methane, the predominant component of natural gas, traps heat in the atmosphere at 28 times the rate of carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Next to agriculture, the EPA said natural gas and petroleum systems are the second largest source of methane emissions in the country, which “occur in all segments of the natural gas industry, from production, through processing and transmission, to distribution … through intentional venting and unintentional leaks.”

These leaks can sometimes also lead to disaster. Between 2010 and 2021, 368 documented pipeline explosions resulted in 89 deaths, 440 injuries and millions of dollars in property damages, according to an analysis of data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration compiled by the Doan Law Firm.

Chemical pollutants from compressor stations that operate along the pipeline are also a major concern.

Ian McDonald of the Windham Willimantic NAACP Environmental Justice Committee said the areas most impacted by fossil fuel infrastructure often overlap with historically marginalized communities, distressed communities and communities of color.

“The impacts in terms of fugitive methane emissions tend to be especially bad, a lot of times, in already affected environmental justice communities, who already have particularly heavy pollution burdens,” McDonald said. “[Project Maple] is a major climate concern, but there are also serious concerns about exacerbating localized pollution, particularly when Connecticut has some of the worst ozone pollution.”

In November the Windham Willimantic NAACP and the Hartford-based Nonprofit Accountability Group sponsored a protest against Project Maple in Pomfret.

NAG Founder Tenaya Taylor said the issue is intersectional and personal.

“A lot of our problems stem from environmental injustice with the health care barriers that we face due to polluters,” Taylor said.

Taylor and McDonald said they fear the pipeline expansion and its emissions will compound existing climate challenges in Connecticut, like decreasing air quality in urban heat Islands and amplifying extreme weather events as global temperatures change.

Taylor said that many people in their community suffer from environmentally linked illnesses like asthma, heart disease and endometriosis.

“I’m constantly hospitalized because of endometriosis and fatigue and inability to breathe. So it’s something I really had to take on because I know that it’s a side effect of building these pipelines and not having clean energy,” Taylor said. “If we can’t breathe, we don’t have anything … we have to spread awareness about the realities of what will happen if they actually do this.”

McDonald, Taylor, Klein and other climate activists said Connecticut needs to shift away from fossil fuels now.

“The technology is fully at hand for us to convert to a fossil fuel free electric grid,” Klein said. “We really don’t need more fracked gas. What we need to do is loosen the restrictions on solar and bring on more renewable energy onto the grid.”

Steelpointe apartments break ground in Bridgeport — 'a long time coming'

Ethan Fry, Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT — Connecticut will only attract new business and residents if the state has the workforce housing it "desperately" needs, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday while in the city to help break ground on the on the long promised — and long delayed — 420 apartments at Steelpointe.

"A lot of people want to be here," Lamont said. "The only thing that's going to slow us down is if we don't have housing."

The governor acknowledged the years-long process it's taken to bring housing to the development where the father and son team of Robert Christoph and Robert Christoph Jr. have been slowly transforming what was once the site of a coal-burning power plant, saying the environmental cleanup process was "complicated."

"This is a transformative moment," Lamont said. "It's taken a long time coming. Rome wasn't built in a day. It didn't take much longer, this, but we're getting there."

The governor pointed to planned transportation improvements that he said will bring Bridgeport "as close to New York City as Stamford is today."

"If I was an investor I'd be investing in Bridgeport," Lamont said. "But they don't let me invest."

More than 100 people jammed the vestibule outside the Boca Oyster Bar to hear Lamont and other officials speak before the governor joined other dignitaries for a ceremonial groundbreaking outside. Housing has long been envisioned for Steelpointe, which has spanned several years and mayoral administrations.

Ground was finally broken there by the Christophs under Mayor Joe Ganim’s predecessor, Bill Finch, who was in attendance Tuesday, with the Bass Pro Shops retailer being the first building to open in 2015 shortly after Ganim ousted Finch in that year’s Democratic mayoral primary.

Tuesday's event celebrated the eventual construction — anticipated to take about two years — of "The August," a 420-unit apartment development with 10,000 square feet of retail space and a 466-space parking garage. The apartments will be 13 percent studio, 55 percent one bedroom, 32 percent two bedroom, and 1 percent three-bedroom. 

The nearly $200 million development was partially financed through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority via a program designed to support housing for middle income residents who wouldn't qualify for affordable housing as defined by law.

State Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said 160 units would be set aside under the program for those making 80 to 100 percent of the median income.

Michael Pugh, the CEO of  Local Initiatives Support Corporation, which also provided financing, said he looked forward to future development balancing the needs of closing the equity gap as the neighborhood faces possible gentrification.

"This kind of project is only the beginning," he said.

City Council President Aidee Nieves said she is "extremely proud" to see the project move forward after years of delay.

"Things are happening here in Bridgeport," she said, mentioning a proposal to put a new waterfront soccer stadium nearby. Lamont last week expressed skepticism about the soccer stadium project, which is reliant on significant state funding.

Robert Christoph Jr. said Steelpointe is "what happens when smart development takes place."

"This waterfront has been kept from the great people of Bridgeport for the past hundred years, and we are here today to further public access to the waterfront which creates a better opportunity to live, work, play, and best of all, be entertained," he said.

The project's amenities will include a fitness center with a sauna and cold plunge, salt water pool, private pickleball courts, a pet park and spa, private balconies, and electric vehicle charging stations.

"It's going to be unparalleled in the marketplace," said Ryan Cronk, vice president of development for Flaherty & Collins Properties.

Ganim credited Finch and John Fabrizi, his predecessors — and successors — in the mayor's office, while thanking the governor and other state officials and the Christophs for their "vision and commitment" which he said could create up to 400 local jobs during the peak of construction.

"This is no throwaway project," said Ganim, who was originally mayor from 1991 to 2003. "This is a singular, impactful development."

Following the Bass Pro opening in 2015, Starbucks coffee shop, Chipotle Mexican restaurant, a new marina and the Boca seafood restaurant followed. Others plans, such as for a luxury movie theater, a Dave & Buster’s restaurant and a hotel, never materialized, though the hotel is still planned.

Two years ago the all-Democrat City Council approved a 12 year tax break for the apartments which critics at the time panned as an unnecessary giveaway to the Christophs.

As outlined at the time in city documents, Bridgeport would receive $23,900 in taxes for those initial three years the apartments are being built/leased, then $1.26 million in year four, and then, in years five through 10, the payments would increase by 2 percent, reaching $1.47 million.

Council members who backed the tax subsidy argued it will be worth it because the apartments — studios, one, two and three-bedroom units costing at that time $2,100 to $2,700 a month — would establish a higher-end housing market in Connecticut’s largest city and, hopefully, encourage future investment that will not require a local subsidy.

But then, as previously reported, the project ran into an issue with environmental cleanup. It was determined that the site, the former location of a steel works and electrical substation, had more ground pollution problems than initially anticipated. Specifically, elevated levels of hazardous, federally-regulated PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls that required more involved clean-up and capping plans required by both the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The final approvals were issued last June.

Fairfield project would add apartments, retail and public plaza on Post Road

Jarrod Wardwell

FAIRFIELD — Months after a real estate company pitched a mixed-use apartment development at the former site of the Exide Battery plant on Post Road, a Fairfield architect said he wants to build a second one across the street.

Architect and developer Marc Andre said he hopes to build a four-story, mixed-use building that would incorporate affordable housing, first-floor businesses and a public plaza on a series of properties surrounding Fairfield Cigars near the corner of Post Road and Fairfield Place. Andre's project targets the same neighborhood where the New York company, TVG Partners, wants to place a complex with 98 apartments, first-floor retail tenants, a self-storage building and green space along the Mill River.

"We hope and expect that if you agree with our vision here, that this will provide an incentive for future development in this important gateway area of the community, provide for an exciting and creative mixed-use development and provide regulations, at least in this district, that would have a very strong emphasis on the commitment to affordable housing opportunities in our town," John Fallon, the attorney representing Andre, said at a recent Town Plan and Zoning Commission meeting.

Neither developer has submitted a formal application, but their plans signify growing private interest along a corridor of Post Road where the town has considered extending its downtown business district with denser housing, increased foot traffic and stronger commercial activity. 

"What we're trying to do is to provide you a vision with what, at least on these parcels, could be the effect of the extension of the zone for the Center Designed Business District," Fallon said. "We're prejudice I guess, but we think it's a pretty exciting concept."

Andre said the building would have 40 residential units comprised of smaller-scale studio and one-bedroom apartments meant to keep options affordable, ranging between 500 and 1,100 square feet.

He said he would set aside at least 30 percent of these units for affordable housing for tenants who fall within 60 and 80 percent of the area median income. The building's affordable space is more than double the town's requirement for affordable housing space to make up at least a tenth of the residential units in developments with 10 or more units.

Fairfield's Plan of Conservation and Development, which the zoning commission is reviewing, recommends unlocking more potential housing options by furthering the western boundary of the Center Designed Business District, a zoning district that allows taller buildings, more floor area and less distance from the street than other parts of Post Road. The widened territory would include the two proposed multi-use sites.

Fallon said he would propose six amendments to Fairfield's zoning regulations to enable the project to move forward with its proposed parking and street setback plans.

Andre said the development would come with about 70 parking spaces, roughly 20 of which would be off street in front of the building and along Post Road, Lindbergh Street and Fairfield Place. The traffic impacts of the project remain unclear, but Fallon said Andre would include one in his application.

Andre said the first-floor businesses in the mixed-use building would be retail-oriented, with potential tenants including a coffee shop and restaurant. Fallon said his team has yet to reach out to the public about the project but intends to do so as the planning progresses. A one-family and two-family set of houses, alongside a vacant lot, stand on the 31,100 square feet of Andre's proposed project.

Commissioners applauded Andre's project for embracing affordable housing and offering a transition along the outskirts of Fairfield's commercial hub. Some suggested Andre could receive better feedback from neighbors and redesign the building's exterior to appear less industrial and fit in with more of a traditional New England aesthetic.

"The prospect of having 30 percent affordable housing in this area I think is wonderful," commissioner Steven Levy said. "I think this is the ideal way to go, basically incorporating the benefits of an 8-30g along with a vibrant resident business mixes use."

Andre said he plans to work in tandem with the zoning commission to strike an agreement on his plans and secure approval for the project to move forward. He contrasted his strategy with 8-30g developments, which allow developers to bypass local zoning regulations if they set aside at least 30 percent of their units as affordable under state statute. Andre's proposal is not an 8-30g project but will still add to Fairfield's affordable housing stock that the state monitors. Once a municipality's supply of affordable housing reaches 10 percent of its total residential units, the state will excuse it from the 8-30g statute.

"I want to be very clear," Andre said. "If we wanted to do an 8-30g, we wouldn't come here for a pre-app, full stop. We are fully invested in this." 

N.Y. developers add three Broadway buildings to their Norwich investments

Claire Bessette

Norwich ― New York-based real estate developers Ernest and Alfred Tollja learned about Norwich in 2018 from a persistent Norwich comedian who drove to their comedy theater nearly every night and pressured them to buy a building in his hometown.

Six years later, the two brothers, originally from Albania, own more than a dozen apartment buildings in Norwich, with a total of 117 apartments. That comedian, however, has moved to upstate New York, the pair said Tuesday.

On Thursday, they completed the purchase of three prominent lower Broadway buildings that are part of a larger revitalization plan that includes a park and event space and street improvements, along with building renovations.

The Tolljas, under the ownership name, TT Investments LLC, purchased the vacant and decaying Fairhaven building at 26-28 Broadway and the vacant buildings at 51-53 Broadway and 59-61 Broadway ― the building with the colorful Metamorphosis mural facing City Hall ― for a combined price of $810,000. They obtained a $950,000 mortgage from GCCG Lending LLC.

The former owner, Stackstone Group, had started renovations, supported by a Norwich Downtown Revitalization Program grant, but ran out of money and abandoned the project. Stackstone had nearly completed renovations at 51-53 Broadway, with hardwood floors, appliances, washers and dryers in four apartments. The Tolljas plan to advertise them for rent next week.

The complex purchase required about 15 parties and about 50 phone calls between real estate brokerage firm, Seaport Realty of Mystic, banks that were poised to foreclose on Stackstone, the Norwich Community Development Corp., which pledged to continue matching grant support for the project, and a letter of support from Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom.

On the day of planned purchase closing, Dec. 15, a portion of the front façade on the Fairhaven building collapsed into the street. City crews cleaned up the mess, boarded up the front of the building and slapped a $31,483 lien on the property for the cost of the work. That delayed the closing nearly a month before the bank that held the Fairhaven mortgage agreed to pay off the lien, the parties said Tuesday.

At one point, in an effort to convince the bank to let the property go, Seaport real estate agent Kyle Schrader took the bank CEO on an online tour of the dilapidated Fairhaven with a flashlight, showing roof leaks, collapsed and decaying features.

NCDC President Kevin Brown credited Seaport, which serves as NCDC’s marketing brokerage for troubled Norwich properties, for its tenacity in getting the deal to the finish line.

Seaport real estate agent Dylan Grandeur said NCDC’s agreement to keep the remaining $205,000 Downtown Revitalization Program matching grant with the three buildings, along with $39,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act grant program, were critical to the deal’s success.

Seaport had put together a 180-page marketing packet on the three lower Broadway buildings, describing renovation plans on file, permit status, the city grant programs and the broader plan for improvements to the entire block.

Ernest Tollja said he and his brother saw the listing and contacted NCDC.

The Tolljas welcomed the city matching grant support and said they hope to complete renovations of the three buildings within six to nine months, adding a combined total of 29 apartments and three street-level commercial spaces to the downtown.

That timing fits perfectly with the city’s plan to apply for state grants through the Community Investment Fund to create the Jubilee Park and event space, make improvements to lower Broadway and for a grant to assist TT Investments with the as-yet-undetermined Fairhaven renovation cost.

NCDC used American Rescue Plan Act grant to hire the Yale Urban Design Workshop to create a plan for Jubilee Park and lower Broadway. The proposed Jubilee Park design was made public Tuesday by lead proponent Castle Church. Its pastor, Adam Bowles, said the plan release coincided with Tuesday being the National Day of Racial Healing.

Jubilee Park, dominated by a mural with giant images of prominent Black Norwich historic figures, carries the theme of racial equity. The Yale design plan calls for a terraced park with a glass enclosure in the current vacant gravel space for arts events, flea markets or other public gatherings.

State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, whose district includes Norwich, helped secure a $500,000 Urban Act grant to hire a firm to engineer the park plan and develop cost estimates to accompany the city’s Community Investment Fund grant application.

The Fairhaven building, now with its broken windows, sagging roof and decaying outdoor stairway, abuts the proposed park.

“We can’t talk about the park without somebody talking about the Fairhaven,” Bowles said Tuesday. “There’s no formal link, but if this becomes beautiful, and you’re looking at a building that’s about to fall down, it’s not going to work. It’s kind of a momentum builder.”

Including the three lower Broadway buildings, the Tollja brothers said their rental units in Norwich are either occupied or in final stages of renovations. The properties include several buildings on Boswell Avenue and buildings on Chestnut Street, Central Avenue, East Main Street and West Main Street, and buildings in Taftville.

During an interview Tuesday, the brothers said some people tried to dissuade them from the purchases, saying the locations were in the slum areas of Norwich. But coming from the Bronx in New York City, they said they thought Norwich’s historic downtown and mill villages looked beautiful.

“They are good people, working people,” Ernest Tollja said of the group’s Norwich tenants.