900 Acres of Maromas Endangered by Merger of Northeast Utilities and NSTAR

Northeast Utilities owns 900 wooded acres along the Connecticut River in the Maromas section of Middletown. Until now, this land and 375 other parcels in Connecticut totaling 9500 acres has been safely protected by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Northeast Utilities and the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The MOU gives towns and the DEEP the first right to buy the land if the utilities should want to sell it. This MOU played a major role in preventing the construction of the U.S. Army Training Center in Maromas in 2008. (The photo here shows the farmland where the proposed Army base was to be built.)

The MOU is due to expire in 2014. We feel that it is important for it to be renewed. We are concerned that the proposed merger between Northeast Utilities and NSTAR, the Boston-based utility, could put the future of that MOU in question.

While the Jonah Center for Earth and Art does not take a position on the merger itself, we are concerned that the agreement to protect the lands might not remain in effect under a new board and management. The Connecticut Fund for the Environment is raising this concern statewide and alerting local groups like the Jonah Center to urge citizens to contact the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA, formerly the DPUC) about this matter.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

Email your comments to dpuc.executivesecretary@po.state.ct.us by 4:00 p.m., February 24. In the subject line, include "Re: Doc. No. 12-01-07." The Jonah Center will be happy to provide you with a sample letter. Just go to www.thejonahcenter.org and click “send us a message” and write “Maromas” as the subject.

At the top of the letter, put "Re: Doc. No. 12-01-07, Application for Appeal of Holding Company Transaction Involving Northeast Utilities and NSTAR" and address your comments to the Executive Secretary. Request that the Memorandum of Understanding be strengthened and extended in order to ensure that the nearly 375 parcels of land on the Conservation List are protected.

Remember to include your full name, your address, and details about why you care about this issue. The Maromas section of Middletown is a precious wildlife habitat, the site of spectacular rock ledges and hiking trails, and by far the largest open space section of the city. To visit the Maromas section of Middletown’s biodiversity database, click here http://biodiversity.wesleyan.edu/geography6.php

(Read more about just a few of the parcels at risk: http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102502737397-285/NU+Property+highlights.pdf)

If you are a representative of an organization or business, it is helpful to note that as well. In addition to submitting written comments, citizens may speak at the public hearing on Wednesday, February 22 at 6:30pm in Hearing Room 1D of the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford.