A common measure of transportation system performance is vehicle miles traveled (VMT), which looks at the total number of miles driven by personal cars across a given area. A reduction in VMT typically yields benefits for congestion, air quality, and can help reduce costs for drivers.
The Naugatuck Valley Active Transportation Plan (NVATP) will aim to coordinate efforts across our 19 municipal members. By compiling best practices and standards, NVCOG aims to encourage increased access to safe, convenient walking/rolling and biking facilities.
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) are a five billion dollar program, created under the Inflation Reduction Act and administered through the EPA, to help state and regional governments reduce greenhouse gases. The first phase involves noncompetitive planning grants that are presumptively allocated to each state, and then to particular Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). In the case of Connecticut, the three MSAs that will receive one-million-dollar planning grants are Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, New Haven-Milford, and Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown. Learn how NVCOG’s municipalities are divided below.
NVision50: The Metropolitan Transportation Plan for the NVCOG and the Central Naugatuck Valley MPO lays out a comprehensive vision for transportation in our region leading up to 2050.
For nearly two centuries, migratory fish have been blocked from most of the Naugatuck River by Kinneytown Dam in Seymour. That continues today, with the facility no longer producing electricity and serving no useful purpose. Now, a project is underway led by NVCOG in partnership with Save the Sound to remove Kinneytown Dam. Removal will open miles of restored habitat to shad, alewife, lamprey, river herring and other anadromous fish, and will also reduce flood risk, remove a safety concern and eyesore, and reconnect communities to recreational opportunities along the Naugatuck River.
After the longstanding failure of a fish ladder at Kinneytown Dam came to light in 2019, the Naugatuck River Restoration Coalition was formed to advocate for the restoration of fish passage on the Naugatuck River. Consisting of NVCOG, the Naugatuck River Revival Group, and Save the Sound, the Coalition has worked with state and federal regulatory agencies to shed light on the failure to pass fish as required by Kinneytown Dam’s federal license exemption and encouraging the dam owner to remedy the situation.
It has become clear that restoring hydroelectric generation while providing safe, timely and effective fish passage at Kinneytown Dam is not economical, and removal of the dam is the only way to fully restore fish passage at the site. In partnership with Save the Sound, NVCOG applied for and received funding through the NOAA Restoring Fish Passage Through Barrier Removal grant program in 2022 for the acquisition and decommissioning of the facility, and for the design and construction work leading to the dam’s removal. The project is supported by municipal leaders, state and federal regulatory agencies, the CT federal delegation, environmental advocates, and the current dam owner.
The Coalition has developed an Interactive Story Map to explain the issue. Project details are forthcoming, so please check back soon!
This interactive storymap details the effort to restore migratory fish to the Naugatuck River, and the current issues at Kinneytown Dam keeping fish from miles of restored habitat upstream.
Let the Naugatuck River Run Silver Again Op-Ed by John Waldman published in Hearst Media publications 12/4/2020
Our Opportunity to Restore Fish Passage at Kinneytown Dam Save the Sound Blog Post 12/10/2020
The final Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan and Municipal Annexes have been posted to the NVCOG Hazard Mitigation Plan webpage. The Plan has been adopted by all 19 NVCOG Communities, and the NVCOG Board endorsed the plan on December 10, 2021. FEMA approved the plan in January, 2022.
In 2019, NVCOG received funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct a multi-jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP) for all 19 NVCOG municipalities.
An approved NHMP is required by FEMA to qualify a municipality for certain federal mitigation funding. NHMPs must be updated every 5 years. The purpose of this project is to update municipal NHMPs and develop a consolidated multijurisdictional plan for the entire Naugatuck Valley planning region in compliance with FEMA standards and requirements that will serve as the approved NHMP for each NVCOG municipality.
The NHMP will identify natural hazards and risks, existing capabilities, and activities that can be undertaken by a community to prevent loss of life and reduce property damages associated with the identified hazards. Public safety and property loss reduction are the driving forces behind this plan. Careful consideration will also be given to the preservation of history, culture and the natural environment of the region.
Milone & MacBroom Inc. (MMI) was selected to serve as the project consultant. MMI has extensive experience developing NHMPs in the region and across the state. NVCOG is administering the project and has prepared a detailed scope of work in collaboration with MMI. The project is expected to take 18 months and will include extensive public and stakeholder outreach and coordination with various municipal officials and departments.
Click on the tabs at the top of the Project Storymap and scroll through the narrative to learn about hazards impacting the region and view topical maps.
Aaron Budris
Senior Regional Planner
abudris@nvcogct.gov
On this page, you can find links with information related to the COVID-19 pandemic for:
Employees are back in the office and our office is open to the public. Public information meetings encourage in-person participation and will continue to have a virtual option for participation.
Below are links to trusted agencies with status updates, resources for municipalities and businesses, and the best data on how to prevent coming into contact with the virus and what to do if you do come into contact with the virus.
FTA Mask Travel Guidance Order and FAQ
TRB and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine resources
Bristol-Burlington Health District (Bristol)
Chesprocott Health District (Cheshire, Prospect & Wolcott)
Naugatuck Valley Health District (Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, Seymour & Shelton)
Housatonic Valley Health District (Oxford, Southbury & Woodbury)
Torrington Area Health District (Bethlehem, Middlebury, Plymouth, Thomaston & Watertown)
Emergency Orders issued by the Governor and State Agencies
Executive Order No 700 “Protection of Public Health and Safety during COVID-19 Pandemic and Response – Procedures for Local Appointments and Elections Requiring In-Person Vote”
Governor Lamont’s Press Releases
Connecticut COVID-19 Data Tracker
Find a Test Center Near You including No-Cost COVID-19 Test Sites
Department of Public Health (DPH) resources
Department of Housing (DOH) Housing Notices and Orders regarding COVID-19
Connecticut State Department of Education Supporting Student Participation
Department of Social Services for SNAP and Child Support Services
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) resources for social distancing at state parks, beaches and more.
CT State Library for updates on local libraries.
Connecticut COVID-19 Charity Connection (4-CT) was launched as a non-profit that unites donors with state-wide programs that will help make an immediate impact.
Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) news and resources
Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) resources
Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST) news and updates
Municipal Guidance Document #1 “Suspension of In Person Open Meeting Requirements”
Municipal Guidance Document #4 “Suspension of Tax Deadlines and Collection Efforts”
Municipal Guidance Document #5 “Suspension of In-Person Voting Requirements by the Public in the Municipal Budget Process”
Municipal Guidance Document #8 Index of Executive Orders Pertinent to Municipalities
The Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) includes funds for Connecticut governments to pay costs incurred in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) has established the Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) Program to reimburse municipalities for such costs.
Rules on Use, Allowable Costs & Ineligible Costs and Program Overview
CT DECD – Stop the Spread in English and Spanish.
CT CBIA – Reopen Connecticut resources and materials.
CDC – Print Resources web page with information covering a variety of topics.
Also see state-by-state testing trends by Johns Hopkins University.
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) is working on its first Regional Plan of Conservation and Development (RPOCD). The RPOCD is an advisory policy document which will help guide regional development and investment in the NVCOG community over the next ten years to 2033.
The Naugatuck River Greenway Thomaston to Torrington Routing Feasibility Study Report was endorsed by the Northwest Hills COG Board on December 10, 2020, by the NVCOG Board on May 8, 2020, and by the Naugatuck River Greenway Steering Committee on May 13, 2020.
Where should the Naugatuck River Greenway (NRG) Trail be developed between Torrington and Thomaston?
The NRG Trail Thomaston to Torrington Routing Feasibility Study was conducted to answer that question. In 2018 and 2019, study partners investigated environmental conditions and potential trail route options throughout the corridor, and talked with stakeholders and the public to help determine a preferred route for the NRG trail. The goal of the study was to identify a single preferred route for the NRG Trail through field investigation and public and stakeholder engagement, and to develop project phasing with cost estimates in preparation for future funding opportunities.
The study was conducted by the BSC Group in partnership with NVCOG, The Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG), the City of Torrington and the Towns of Litchfield, Harwinton and Thomaston. The study was funded by a Responsible Growth and Transit Oriented Development grant from the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM), supplemented by funding from CT DOT and FHWA.
The interactive Project Webmap allows users to explore the project corridor and preferred route in greater detail by turning on and off various data layers that informed the study:
Aaron Budris
Senior Regional Planner
abudris@nvcogct.gov
The Towns of Thomaston and Watertown received a federal Recreational Trails Program grant through the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to design and construct a trailhead parking area and short section of Naugatuck River Greenway (NRG) trail in Thomaston and to design critical features along the future NRG route in Watertown. NVCOG is administering the grant on behalf of the towns, and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) is the project engineer. The project is part of the larger 44-mile NRG trail that is planned to follow the Naugatuck River from Torrington to Derby.
The original purpose of the project was to design and construct a trailhead and trail on town property in Thomaston adjacent to the town water pollution control and animal control facilities connecting to an existing historic trolley bridge over Branch Brook, and design critical features including drainage and rail separation for a trail to be constructed in the future in Watertown. Investigation into the reuse of the Trolley Bridge revealed that it would be more cost effective to construct a new crossing. The scope was altered to use the limited construction funds to fully design a new crossing full design of a new crossing of Branch Brook.
The trail segment and trailhead parking in Thomaston will provide access to the NRG, Mattatuck and Branch Brook Trails via a new pedestrian bridge over Branch Brook that was designed as part of this project. Thomaston and Watertown each applied for Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LoTCIP) funding to construct sections of the NRG Trail in the respective towns.
Design Plans:
Reports:
DRAFT Habitat Study
Trolley Bridge Assessment
Public Information Meeting (6/21/2018) Materials:
Aaron Budris
Senior Regional Planner
abudris@nvcogct.gov