NVCOG Launches Second Annual Backyard Composter & Rain Barrel Sale

PRESS RELEASE

NVCOG Executive Director Rick Dunne (left) and Sustainable CT Fellow Adrian Huq (right) distribute compost bins at last year’s Composter and Rain Barrel Sale in Southbury.

The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) is offering backyard composters, rain barrels, and related accessories at wholesale prices to residents of the Naugatuck Valley Region. Residents can place orders at the NVCOG online store (www.nvcogct.gov/compostersale) through Thursday, May 19th for pickup at one of two locations on Saturday, May 21st:

9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Seymour Community Center, 20 Pine Street, Seymour  

1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Bethlehem Fire Department, 26 Main Street South, Bethlehem

Backyard composters will help residents turn food and yard waste into valuable compost perfect for amending soil for vegetables, flowers, or lawns. Rain barrels can provide a reliable source of chemical free water for outdoor uses like watering lawns and gardens.

In providing these products at affordable prices and promoting their use to residents, NVCOG strives to help communities reduce the volume and cost of municipal solid waste, keep organic waste out of landfills and conserve drinking water by providing an alternative water source for outdoor needs.

Last year 124 composting units were sold, diverting up to 62,000 pounds of organics from landfills and trash burning plants. The 110 55-gallon rain barrels sold also represent a significant conservation of water resources.

Click here to view the flyer.

Contact:

Desira Blanchard
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
203-489-0353
dblanchard@nvcogct.org

CTDOT to Host a Public Information Meeting on Intersection Improvements at Route 6, 61, and Quassapaug Pond in the Town of Woodbury

Road work ahead sign

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) will host a virtual public information meeting on Intersection Improvements at Route 6, 61, and Quassapaug Pond in the Town of Woodbury (Proposed Project No. PP-168-003) on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 7 p.m. Instructions on how to access the meeting and on how to provide comments or ask questions can be found by visiting the project webpage.

“Along the Lines” Podcast Episode Highlights CTDOT and ADS Pilot Program Aira

The latest episode of The Connecticut Department of Transportation’s “Along the Lines” podcast highlights the Department of Aging and Disability Services (ADS) and CTDOT’s new pilot program Aira and explores ongoing efforts to create an inclusive public transportation experience in CT.

Through this program, riders taking a bus or train can now live stream through their phone’s camera and connect to personal agents who can help them navigate by describing their surroundings.

Listen to the latest episode on AppleGoogleSoundcloudLibsyn, and Spotify

More information can also be found at alongthelinesct.com.

Oxford Board of Selectmen Endorse Oxford Route 67 Alternative Transportation Study Report

PRESS RELEASE

Oxford, Conn. — At their regular meeting on February 16th, the Oxford Board of Selectmen voted to endorse the Oxford Route 67 Alternative Transportation Study final report. The report is the result of an 18-month planning process that investigated the potential for bicycle, pedestrian, and transit improvements along Route 67 in Oxford.

Study recommendations include developing a 6.5-mile multiuse trail along the west side of Route 67 through Oxford, eventually connecting to the Larkin State Bridle Trail in Southford and the Naugatuck River Greenway Trail in Seymour via that town’s sidewalk network. The recommended trail would be 10 feet wide to allow bidirectional travel by bicyclists and pedestrians and would be separated from road traffic by a minimum five-foot buffer or guardrail. The concept is identical to the section of trail currently being constructed by the town between Oxford Town Hall and Dutton Road. The report breaks the trail down into fundable segments and provides conceptual mapping and cost estimates for each. It provides a cohesive plan for the entire corridor to better enable the town to plan, prioritize, and fund future improvements.

“Oxford residents have repeatedly voiced support for pedestrian and bicycle access along the Little River and Route 67,” said Oxford First Selectman George Temple. “With this report, the town has the information necessary to make further progress toward that goal.”

The study also looked at demand for transit in the town, with a recommendation to institute a micro transit service that could offer on-demand or scheduled rides to residents. Valley Transit District (VTD) operates a micro transit service in Seymour, and the report highlights the potential to expand VTD’s service area into Oxford as a cost-effective solution.

The study was funded and conducted by the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) with technical support from TranSystems Corporation, a planning and engineering consultant with offices in Meriden, CT. The project was overseen by the Oxford Main Street Project Committee. The final report and additional study information can be found on the study webpage at www.nvcogct.gov/oxfordroute67.

NVCOG Assistant Director Mark Nielsen said, “The recommendation in this study expands our vision of a multimodal network throughout the region that will provide transportation options to those who do not have, or would prefer not to use, a personal motor vehicle.”

Contact:

Aaron Budris
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
203-757-0535
abudris@nvcogct.org

More than $54 Million in LOTCIP Funds Awarded to Municipalities in the NVCOG Region

The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) is excited to announce that more than $54 million in Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP) funds have been awarded to municipalities within our region since the inception of the program. NVCOG is responsible for soliciting, programming, and working with our towns to initiate and implement projects. The Connecticut State Legislature created the LOTCIP program in late 2013, facilitated by the regional COGs, to help make local projects easier and quicker to build. Funds are provided through the CT Department of Transportation (CTDOT) based on designs developed by the municipalities. These projects have included work ranging from road reconstruction to safety improvements, pedestrian enhancements, and bridges. Many projects have included streetscape improvements and upgrades to some of our most vital downtown streets. 

NVCOG has been proactive in soliciting and initiating projects from our member towns. We provide assistance to project sponsors with refining applications, evaluating a project’s purpose and need, as well as assessing appropriate actions that will fix identified problems. Since the inception of the program, 13 projects have been completed at a value of just under $27 million and another seven are under construction with an awarded total $27.2 millionThrough Fiscal Year 2022, over $70.2 million in LOTCIP funds have been allocated to NVCOG, meaning we have obligated 77% of our funds to date. In addition, 11 projects, have received a “commitment to fund” letter and are in the design phase. The commitment to fund letter is the CTDOT’s assurance that LOTCIP funds will be awarded to the project. The value of these projects is slightly over $38 million, bringing the region’s commitment of LOTCIP funds to $92.3 million. Given design schedules, NVCOG anticipates that sufficient funds will be allocated to the region to fully the committed program. 

Click the charts below for more details.

LOTCIP Project Information: 

Visit the LOTCIP webpage for more information.

NVCOG Publishes Regional Housing Profile to Aid Naugatuck Valley Towns in Affordable Housing Planning

NVCOG 2022 Regional Housing Profile

PRESS RELEASE

Waterbury, Conn. — The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated challenges that the Naugatuck Valley Region’s most vulnerable households face in finding affordable, secure housing. With a limited supply of affordable housing options, a growing number of households are spending an unmanageable portion of their income on a place to live. The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments’ Regional Housing Profile provides a clear overview of the state’s requirements and offers useful housing and demographic data to help the region’s municipalities create their affordable housing plan. The profile provides recommendations and strategies to assist municipalities as they consider ways to implement more affordable housing options that are compatible with existing development patterns and infrastructure.

To address the housing issue more broadly, Connecticut state statute requires that all municipalities adopt an Affordable Housing Plan by June 1, 2022, specifying how they intend to increase the number of affordable housing developments. “There is a need for more affordable, accessible, and appropriate housing options in each of our communities,” said Rick Dunne, NVCOG Executive Director. “The broad recommendations and strategies in this document are meant to help our communities decide on the most appropriate solution to meet their affordable housing needs.”

“The work of the NVCOG is exceptional and a critical resource in TEAM’s efforts surrounding workforce housing in our region,” said David Morgan, President and CEO of TEAM Inc. “This Housing Profile’s use of data and information is relevant to the local needs and opportunities that can truly help our towns and cities craft localized plans that are responsive to the state requirements, above all addressing more naturally affordable housing options for today’s diverse workforce in our region.”

Visit https://nvcogct.gov/ to view the Regional Housing Profile.

Contact:

Savannah-Nicole Villalba, AICP Candidate
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
203-489-0514
snvillalba@nvcogct.gov

 

FEMA Approves Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments Hazard Mitigation Plan

Hazard Mitigation Plan Update

PRESS RELEASE

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). The plan was funded with a grant from FEMA and updates the local HMPs for all municipalities in the NVCOG Region. With this plan approval, all 19 NVCOG communities are eligible to apply to the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) for mitigation grants administered by FEMA.

The NVCOG HMP examines a range of natural hazards including winter storms, hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Strategies and actions recommended in the plan are aimed at reducing the risk and vulnerability of the region to those hazards over the next five years. With approved plans, the region’s municipalities can apply for federal funding to undertake projects that will protect the lives and property of region’s residents and make the region more resilient to future natural disasters.

The project team, consisting of NVCOG planners and consultant SLR, Inc., worked with municipal staff and stakeholders in each community over the past 18 months to review previous plans and identify risks.  Input from municipal officials, stakeholders, and the public were all incorporated into a final multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan and 19 municipal annexes which were adopted by local governing boards. This regional effort represents a cost and time savings to municipalities when compared to developing individual HMPs as was common previously.

Plan documents can be accessed at www.nvcogct.gov/hmp.

Contact:

Aaron Budris
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
203-757-0535
abudris@nvcogct.org

Proposed Regional Wastewater Treatment Consolidation Would Save Local Taxpayers $66.5 Million, Lower Sewer Rates for Homeowners

Wastewater equipment in Seymour.

PRESS RELEASE

Regional Study Recommendations to be Presented in Public Meeting on Wednesday, January 26

Recommendations from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) Regional Wastewater Treatment Consolidation Study will be presented to the public during a meeting at Ansonia High School, 20 Pulaski Hwy, Ansonia at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 26, 2022. The presentation will provide details of the projected $66.5 million in savings that would result for Seymour, Ansonia and Derby if the three towns regionalize wastewater treatment operations. Masks are required to be worn by participants inside Ansonia High School. Residents who want to log in virtually to participate in the meeting can do so via Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/NVCOG-Zoom

The public can also watch the presentation live on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/NVCOG-YouTube

Funded primarily by a $1.35 million grant from the state Office of Policy and Management, the study began in April 2018. It provides a preliminary analysis of the region’s ability to increase capacity for properly treating wastewater in a consolidated facility or facilities, thereby leading to a reduction in long-term state and local capital improvements and a reduction of user fees. Study reports and findings can be found on the study’s webpage at: https://nvcogct.gov/project/current-projects/regional-wastewater-treatment-consolidation-study/

Should the three municipalities choose to move forward in consolidating wastewater treatment operations, they would form a regional entity to oversee a shared treatment facility and wastewater collection systems, set rates and decide the most economical way to operate the system. The three communities would need to take an active role in pursuing the savings via the creation and support for the regional entity. An underlying assumption to the study is that the long-term savings from consolidating the systems would be passed on to ratepayers.

The study features two components, an Engineering Component conducted by Black & Veatch Inc, of Overland Park, Kansas (Black & Veatch) and an Economic Analysis & Governance component conducted by the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management, UMASS, Boston (The Collins Center).

According to Black & Veatch, the most important conclusion from this detailed and extensive study is that regionalization of these wastewater systems is more cost effective long-term than the current scenarios of maintaining separate wastewater treatment. Also of critical importance is that the recommended regional alternative provides more environmental benefit than any of the other alternatives studied.

During the January 26 informational presentation, residents will have the opportunity to learn how the study was conducted, methods used to collect data and how findings were derived. Recommendations for an organizational structure, bylaws and representation for a regional wastewater treatment authority, per the State of Connecticut’s model legislation, will also be detailed.

The study’s Phase I analyzed the wastewater treatment operations in Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck and Seymour for consolidation potential and corresponding savings. It produced 23 possible consolidation alternatives. Phase I findings were presented to the legislative bodies of each municipality in April and May of 2019.

Phase II began in March 2020 and refined the list to a final preferred alternative presented to stakeholders in a June 2021 workshop. Savings projections were refined in the following months and presented to stakeholders during a November 9 workshop.

The following is a study timeline and potential next steps in utilizing its findings:

April 2018: NVCOG executes a contract with Black & Veatch to conduct Phase I of the study’s Engineering Component. Analysis begins of wastewater treatment plants in the municipalities of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck and Seymour for potential consolidation and/or the sharing of services. Tasks include a review of existing planning documents and assessments of current facilities and collection system infrastructures.

March 2019: Phase I concludes. Black & Veatch and NVCOG staff present findings to the legislative bodies of the five municipalities in April and May.

March 2020: Phase II commences a more extensive technical and engineering analysis, as well as identification of a short list of alternatives and preferred alternative(s) to the systems currently in place.

May 2020: The study’s Economic Analysis & Governance Component begins, conducted the Collins Center. This component will analyze capital and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs of the currently separate facilities (base case) for each jurisdiction that will be included with the preferred alternative regional wastewater system(s). It will also recommend a governance model(s) for the preferred alternative regional wastewater system(s), including draft by-laws for the representation model and wholesale rate-setting procedures.

June 2021: Black & Veatch presents its final preferred alternative in a regional stakeholder workshop. The proposal would merge the wastewater treatment operations of the Cities of Ansonia and Derby and Town of Seymour at one plant, located at the site of the current Ansonia facility.

January 2022: Black & Veatch and The Collins Center present study findings and recommendations to the general public during a public meeting at Ansonia High School.

To achieve wastewater regionalization, recommended ‘Next Steps’ would involve establishing a wastewater consolidation committee with representatives from each municipality that has independent legal representation. The committee would then move forward with the following actions:

Step 1: Finalize cost allocation methodology

  • Negotiate a cost allocation methodology which will require further financial modeling
  • Hire asset valuation consultant to assess existing value of infrastructure (either through NVCOG facilitation or via an inter-municipal agreement) Incorporate the cost allocation scheme into a separate legal agreement or the proposed Sewer Ordinance and Bylaws establishing and defining a proposed Naugatuck Valley Wastewater Pollution Control Authority.

Step 2: Finalize all legal foundational documents

  • Vet the cost allocation agreement, ordinance, and bylaws with legal counsel, DEEP, and other stakeholders
  • Develop the preliminary plan of operation (either through NVCOG facilitation or via an inter-municipal agreement)
  • Legislative bodies adopt cost allocation agreement, ordinance, and bylaws after preferred public engagement process
  •  Receive approval of the ordinance and preliminary plan of operation from DEEP Commissioner and State Treasurer

Step 3: Implement the regional WPCA

  • Appoint Directors to regional WPCA Board of Directors

Note: All future steps the responsibility of the Board consistent with the legal foundational documents and the preliminary plan of operation.

Contact:

Desira Blanchard
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
203-489-0353
dblanchard@nvcogct.org

NVCOG Launches Online Hub Promoting Solar Development in Partnership with SolSmart Program

PRESS RELEASE

Waterbury, Conn.- As heating costs continue to rise this winter and the worldwide clean energy movement gains momentum, the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) is committed to promoting solar development on a regional level. NVCOG launched a series of webpages dedicated to promoting the development of solar energy in its 19-town region.

This online hub is the fruit of a partnership with SolSmart, a Department of Energy funded and nationally recognized program that works with municipalities and regional organizations to remove barriers to solar growth. NVCOG is currently in pursuit of Silver Certification status, which it plans to achieve in 2023.

The new webpages provide municipal staff as well as residents and developers with resources needed to develop solar projects. The virtual toolkit includes a savings calculator, consumer protection guides, information on financial incentives, and links to a search function for local installers. To understand how local permitting works in each municipality, the webpage provides contact information for town departments and links to permits. Training videos for building and land use staff will become available in the spring of 2022.

“As a participant in the SolSmart program, NVCOG is aiming to decrease the soft costs of solar energy development and expand solar opportunities, including through this new online solar information hub,” said Danny Falk, Program Manager with the Interstate Renewable Energy Council and the SolSmart program. “Solar energy growth at the local level can result in increased economic development, increased property tax income, and a reduction of the environmental impacts of fossil fuels.”

“Our webpages put decisions-making tools and step-by-step guides into the hands of residents, as well as training materials into the hands of municipal staff,” said NVCOG Regional Environmental Planner Christine O’Neill. “We want to ensure that any resident or developer interested in a solar project doesn’t have superfluous hoops to jump through.”

Regional Solar Goals

NVCOG’s partnership with SolSmart is just one aspect of its multipronged approach to promoting clean energy. The 2022-2032 Regional Plan of Conservation and Development is slated to include a section on renewable energy goals, while an upcoming sustainability guide will feature targeted strategies on energy efficiency and conservation for municipalities.

NVCOG recognizes the benefits that solar projects would provide to the region. Executive Director Rick Dunne welcomes towns, developers, and residents to check out these resources. “As residents in our region join the over 47,000 homes across the state that have chosen solar, municipal offices are seeing an increased number of solar applications each year,” said NVCOG Executive Director Rick Dunne. “We want to give our towns the tools and training to be knowledgeable about this important topic and help move our state to a renewable, distributed generation model for supplying our power needs.”

Distributed generation solar projects contribute to energy independence, reliable power, fewer adverse environmental impacts, and ultimately lower electric bills.

Visit NVCOG’s solar hub at: https://nvcogct.gov/solar

Contact:

Desira Blanchard
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
203-489-0353
dblanchard@nvcogct.org