The State of the States in Environmental Dispute Resolution:
CONNECTICUT

Status:
Connecticut does not have an EDR program. However, individuals within the Department of Environmental Protection are considering development of a pilot program.

Legal Authority:
CONN. GEN. STAT. ANN. §§ 52-408 to -424 (West 1991 & Supp. 1998) (codifying the Connecticut Uniform Arbitration Act, which authorizes the use of arbitration agreements and establishes law governing the validity of and procedure used in arbitrations).

Contact Information:
     David Knishkowy, Director of Adjudication
     Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
     79 Elm St.
     Hartford, CT 06106-5127
     Phone: (860) 424-3037
     Fax: (860) 424-4052

Program Summary

Connecticut currently does not have an EDR program. Several individuals within the Department of Environmental Protection are researching the feasibility of a pilot program, but it has not been implemented as of this printing. There is a court-annexed mediation program, and occasionally an enforcement case will be referred to mediation by a judge. In some cases, parties have asked that cases be referred to mediation.

A bill was introduced in the 1994–1995 session of the Connecticut legislature encouraging the use of dispute resolution where multiple parties may be liable for contamination. Despite guarded support by environmentalists and the regulated community, the bill was set aside until 1996 and eventually failed to pass. Since then, there have been no environmental-specific ADR initiatives.

Publication

Martha A. Dean, Contaminated Sites: Connecticut Moves Toward Private ADR, DISP. RESOL. J.,  Jan./Mar. 1996, at 54.

Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute
Last updated: June 1999
Comments: ICRI Administrator
Copyright 1999 - Indiana University, Bloomington