Four bills have been introduced in Hartford this session. Public support will be key to these advancing and becoming law. BRCA will provide updates and action alerts on these bills. To read the language of these bills (which is subject to change in response to legislative action) and monitor their progress through the session, click the links below: If you would like to receive e-mails or text messages when the status of these bills changes, you can sign up for bill tracking.

The Hartford Courant has released excellent report on the ongoing noise pollution and medical waste proposal at the Reworld’s Bristol incinerator: “It appears that the state has abandoned the residents of Bristol and the surrounding area who are impacted on the ground, that it isn’t worth spending the resources to do so,” Keith Ainsworth, who represents the Bristol-Burlington Health District, said in a blistering public statement Friday afternoon. For more, see Trash Plant Controversy Deepens.

UPDATE 1/20: BRCA is holding a meeting on this recommendation and legislative solutions on Monday, January 21 at 6:30 PM. Sign up here: https://bristolresidents.org/zoom BRISTOL, CT – Bristol Residents for Clean Air condemns the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) recommendation to approve, unmodified, the draft permits for Reworld Inc.’s waste incinerator, which seeks to burn biomedical waste (BMW) at 170 Enterprise Drive, Bristol. DEEP’s post-hearing brief disregards significant public health, safety, and environmental concerns raised by local residents, experts, and environmental advocates during the public comment period. The proposal has faced overwhelming opposition, as evidenced by the […]

The Southington Town Council has passed a resolution opposing the collection and incineration of biomedical waste at the Reworld facility in Bristol and has sent a formal letter to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to deny Reworld’s application. Southington has asked DEEP and the Connecticut Department of Public Health “to conduct a thorough review of the potential health and safety risks associated with this proposal, including the implementation of continuous emissions monitoring, and to take necessary actions to protect the residents of Southington and the surrounding communities” and “to engage with local stakeholders… in assessing the […]

Following a thorough investigation into widespread noise complaints, Reworld was served with two notices of violation for exceeding the maximum sound levels set forth in state regulation and has been ordered to comply with state regulation. These notices confirm that Reworld has not been adhering to its operating permit, at least as regards noise pollution. Reworld has appealed these notices, denying — incredibly — that their facility produces any noise that is audible beyond the property line. For more information, see NBC’s report: Stop the sound: Health district orders Bristol company to reduce noise levels – NBC Connecticut.

Eyewitness News has run a story on the controversy the draft permits have unleashed:Proposal to burn medical waste at Bristol plant raising concerns from residents.

In addition to the air and noise pollution, the draft permits allow the importation of infectious waste up to biosafety level 4, (BSL 4) creating the risk of the spread of disease in workers and community members. Biosafety level 4 classification is reserved for highly contagious pathogens that cause severe to fatal disease and for which there are no effective treatments or vaccine. Read more at the Hartford Courant:Consultant sees ‘occupational health issue’ in permit for burning medical waste at CT incinerator.