Sec. 22a-113a. Grants. Eligibility. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 22a-113a. Grants. Eligibility. (a) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection may make a grant to any municipality, as defined in section 22a-93, for a project to improve the quality of estuarine embayments, as defined in subdivision (7) of said section. The amount of the grant shall not exceed fifty per cent of the cost of implementation and related costs of any such project. Related costs may include costs of design and data collection and monitoring before and after the project is completed, but shall not include costs for operation, maintenance or upkeep of any such project.

      (b) The commissioner shall evaluate the eligibility of a project for a grant and award such a grant based on the degree of public benefit from such project. He shall determine such benefit by assessing (1) the conditions and problems of the estuarine embayment and their causes; (2) the cost of the project; (3) the short and long term impact of the project; (4) the accessibility of the embayment to the public; and (5) the level of public concern for the condition of the embayment. In making such an assessment, the commissioner shall consider (A) the effect of the project on the embayment, including the effect on water quality, sedimentation, wetlands, shell and fin fisheries, biota, tidal flushing, tidal flow, bathymetry, substrate quality, hydraulics, navigability and flooding, (B) public health and public recreational opportunities and (C) any other factors the commissioner deems relevant. No grant shall be made unless the project for which such grant is made is consistent with policies and standards established in this chapter and the municipality's coastal management program approved in accordance with the provisions of sections 22a-101 to 22a-104, inclusive.

      (c) The legislative body of a municipality or, in the case of a municipality for which the legislative body is a town meeting or a representative town meeting, the board of selectmen, by majority vote, may authorize the chief executive officer to enter into contracts or grant agreements concerning estuarine embayment improvement projects with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection. Two or more municipalities may, with the approval of their legislative bodies, or, as provided in this section, with the approval of their boards of selectmen, jointly undertake estuarine embayment improvement projects. The state share of a joint project shall not exceed fifty per cent of the cost of the project.

      (P.A. 86-382, S. 2, 6.)