DeLauro Welcomes EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Back to CT

Press Release

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) today welcomed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administration Gina McCarthy back to Connecticut. McCarthy formerly served as Commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection, the precursor to the current Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.

Before touring The Sound School in New Haven and holding a roundtable discussion on the health and future of the Long Island Sound, DeLauro and McCarthy met with Stratford Mayor John Harkins and members of the Stratford community regarding the Raymark Superfund site.

"We have made progress on the Raymark Superfund site, but work remains and I was pleased by the today's productive conversation," DeLauro said. "Throughout my time in Congress I have worked with the community to ensure they have a voice in the remediation plan's development. Today they had a chance to speak with one of the top decision-makers in this process. The EPA knows the urgency of this situation and wants to get the job done. I look forward to all of us working together on a comprehensive plan that balances environmental standards with Stratford's needs."

Harkins said: "Over the last several months, I've been actively seeking to get Raymark cleanup on the radar of the upper echelon at the EPA. I would like to thank EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy for her visit to Stratford, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro for facilitating this unprecedented visit. I look forward to a solution-oriented discussion with all of the stakeholders regarding Raymark cleanup in the coming months."

DeLauro, co-chair of the Congressional Long Island Sound Caucus, also led a discussion about cleaning up and preserving the Long Island Sound. "The Sound is a critical economic, recreational and environmental resource," she said after the meeting. "We have made progress in cleaning it up, but we cannot let up now. These waters are a regional and national treasure. We must ensure their protection and preservation, not just for today, but for generations to come."

"Rosa's and Gina's leadership and strong investments in Long Island Sound's clean water and wildlife have brought our urban sea back from the brink of collapse," said Curt Johnson, executive director of Save the Sound, a bi-state program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment. Johnson, who is also the Connecticut co-chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee, a group of 38 environmental, community, business and local government leaders that counsels the Long Island Sound Study, continued, "We ask them to continue working together to lead us in setting and achieving the bold goals that will breathe oxygen and life back into Sound, restore dense schools of fish and vast flocks of shorebirds, and make every beach safe for the every one of the million or more kids who live within an hour of the Sound."

DeLauro is the author of a bill to protect and preserve the Sound. She has worked to protect funding for the Sound, which has been cut over the past several years. For example, the Clean Water State Revolving fund, which provides low-interest loans to fund water treatment, has been cut by 30 percent since 2012.

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