Kinneytown Dam Removal

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.    

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 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) in 2022 for the acquisition and decommissioning of the facility, and for the design and construction work leading to the dam’s removal.  Since then, the project team has secured additional funding and support from the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the CT Department of Economic and Community Development, the US Environmental Protection Agency, federal Congressionally Directed Spending, and State Bond Funding now, with committed funding totaling over $50 million.  The project is supported by municipal leaders, state and federal regulatory agencies, the CT federal delegation, and environmental advocates.

In 2025, the facility was acquired by the CT Brownfield Land Bank, Inc., a nonprofit partner that works to assist in the cleanup and repurposing of contaminated properties, which will hold the property while design and engineering is completed, and the dam is ultimately removed.