HB 5153 — AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS TO DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION RELATED STATUTES.

(1) Have the written permission of the private property owner where such huntingPublic isAct conducted,No. and (2) carry such written permission upon his or her person during the hunting.

26-124 8 of 15 Substitute House Bill No.

5153 hunting is conducted, and (2) carry such written permission upon his or her person during the hunting.

(NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) Except as prohibited in subdivision (1) of subsection (i) of section 22a-208a of the general statutes, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may, notwithstanding any provision of title 22a of the general statutes, issue a general permit for any activity that the commissioner may authorize by issuance of an individual permit, provided the commissioner determines that such activity both separately and cumulatively causes minimal environmental effects.

Such determinationshallbe specifiedinthepublic notice for anysuchgeneral permit notice pursuant to this section.

Sec.

10.

(NEW) (Effective from passage) For the purposes of any water dischargepermitissuedpursuanttochapter446kofthegeneralstatutes, or any regulation adopted pursuant thereto, "discharges from public or private drinking water treatment systems" includes potable water system maintenance or sampling wastewaters which include:

(1) Potable water storage tank or water line draining for maintenance or hydrostatic testing purposes;

(2) raw or treated water from process sampling points, including on-line process analytical instrumentation;

(3) raw or treated water from equipment leakage and bleed-off;

and (4) periodic hydrant flushing.

Sec.

11.

Subsection (f) of section 22a-174 of the general statutes is repealed andthefollowing issubstituted inlieuthereof(EffectiveOctober 1, 2026):

(f) The commissioner shall allow the open burning of brush on residential property, provided the burning is conducted by the resident Public Act No.

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5153 ofthepropertyortheagentoftheresidentandapermitforsuchburning is obtained from the local open burning official of the municipality in which the property is located, and the open burning of brush in municipal landfills, transfer stations and municipal recycling centers, provided a permit for such burning is obtained from the fire marshal of the municipality where the facility is located, except that no open burning of brush shall occur (1) when national or state ambient air quality standards may be exceeded;

(2) where a hazardous health condition might be created;

(3) when the forest fire danger in the area is identified by the commissioner as high, very high or extreme and where woodland or grass land is within one hundred feet of the proposed burn;

(4) where there is an advisory from the commissioner of any air pollution episode;

(5) where prohibited by an ordinance of the municipality;

and (6) in the case of a municipal landfill, when such landfill is within an area designated as a hot spot on the open burning map prepared by the commissioner.

A permit for the burning of brush at any municipal landfill, municipal transfer station or municipal recycling center shall be issued no more than six times in any calendar year.

The proposed permit to burn brush at any municipal landfill, municipal transfer station or municipal recycling center shall be submitted to the commissioner by the fire marshal, with the approval of the chief elected official of the municipality in which the municipal landfill, municipal transfer station or municipal recycling center is located.

The commissioner shall approve or disapprove the fire marshal's proposed permitting of burning of brush at a municipal landfill, municipal transfer station or municipal recycling center within a reasonable time ofthefiling ofsuchapplication.The burning ofleaves, demolition waste or other solid waste deposited in such landfill shall be prohibited.

The burning of nonprocessed wood for campfires and bonfires is not prohibited if the burning is conducted so as not to create a nuisance and in accordance with any restrictions imposed on such burning.

Nothing in this subsection or in any regulation adopted pursuant to this subsection shall affect the power of any municipality to Public Act No.

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5153 regulate or ban the open burning of brush within its boundaries for any purpose.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, fire breaks for the purpose of controlling forest fires and controlled fires in saltwater marshes to forestall uncontrolled fires are not prohibited.

Open burning may be engaged in for any of the following purposes if the open burning official with jurisdiction over the area where the burning will occur issues an open burning permit:

Fire-training exercises;

eradication or control of insect infestations or disease;

agricultural purposes;

clearing vegetative debris following a natural disaster;andvegetativemanagementorenhancementofwildlifehabitat or ecological sustainability on municipal property or on any privately owned property permanently dedicated as open space.

Open burning for such purposes on state property may be engaged in with the written approval of the commissioner.

Local burning officials nominated for the purposes of this subsection shall be nominated only by the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the official will serve and shall be certified by the commissioner.

The chief executive officer may revoke the nomination.

The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, governing open burning andmayauthorizeorprohibitopenburningconsistentwiththissection.

The regulations may require the payment of an application fee and inspection fee and may establish a certification procedure for local burning officials.

Sec.

12.

Section 23-36 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):

The State Forest Fire Warden may take such action as said warden deemsnecessarytoprovideforthepreventionandcontrolofforestfires.

Said warden may enter into agreements with federal agencies, with cities, boroughs and fire districts and with forest protective associations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section.

Said warden, if the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection Public Act No.

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5153 deems necessary, may prohibit open flames upon any or all lands under the commissioner's control.

Said warden shall divide the state into districts for the purpose of preventing and controlling forest fires and shall appoint within these districts such district fire wardens, not exceeding two hundred and fifty, as said warden deems necessary, who shall serve for two years or until their successors are appointed.

The State Forest Fire Warden shall have supervision of district fire wardens and shall instruct them in their duties.

Each district fire warden may, with the approval of the State Forest Fire Warden, appoint deputies to assist in extinguishing fires and to take charge of such extinguishing in such district fire warden's absence, provided, in cities having paid fire departments and whose boundaries are coterminous with the town boundaries, the State Forest Fire Warden may appoint a district fire warden and may assume responsibility for forest fires only upon the written request of the mayor of such city and for such portions as may be designated by such mayor.

Cities without paid fire departments and portions of towns outside of city limits shall be included in forest fire districts and the State Forest Fire Warden may employ volunteer fire companies under the conditions described in this section and sections 23-37 to 23-42, inclusive.

The State Forest Fire Warden shall establish rates of compensation for equipment usage, fire fighting materials and supplies expended and firefighter and laborer time expended in extinguishing forest fires to be paid to such volunteer fire companies as may be employed.

In establishing such rates, the State Forest Fire Warden may differentiate between various kinds of equipment and material and supplies used and the provisions of section 23-39, as amended by this act, shall apply to the establishment of rates of compensation for firefighter and laborer time.

Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes or any municipal ordinance, upon the declaration by the Governor of the existence of a state of emergency due to forest fire, the State Forest Fire Warden may assume direct authority over efforts to extinguish any forest fire and may assign such authority to any state forest fire control personnel.

Public Act No.

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5153 Sec.

13.

Section 23-39 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):

The compensation of district and deputy fire wardens, trained firefightersorganizedinaccordancewithrulesissuedbytheStateForest Fire Warden and such laborers as said warden finds it necessary to employ shall be fixed by said warden on an hourly basis, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Administrative Services.

Volunteer fire companies may be compensated in accordance with section 23-36, as amended by this act.

The chief of the fire department in any town, city or boroughwho receivesa regular salary shall bepaid no additional compensation when acting as a fire warden.

District fire wardens shall prepare their bills for services rendered by them and by the personnel and automobiles and other apparatus employed or used by them in extinguishing fires.

The chief of any volunteer fire company may prepare bills for services rendered by said company and by the personnel and automobiles and other apparatus employed or used by them in extinguishing forest fires, if said company is allowed by town ordinance to receive payment for such bills.

Such bills shall be on a form prescribed by the State Forest Fire Warden and shall be submitted to the State Forest Fire Warden within one month after the services have been rendered, and, if found correct and approved by said warden, shall be ordered paid by the State Comptroller.

Due to emergency, the State ForestFireWardenmayextendtheone-monthsubmittaldeadlinetonot more than four months.

A copy of each bill so paid on account of any fire within a city, as provided in section 23-36, as amended by this act, shall be sent by the State Forest Fire Warden to the city treasurer of the city inwhichthefire occurred,except billsforwhicharailroadcompany isliable under theprovisionsofsection23-42, and,onor before thetenth day of December in each year, such city treasurer shall draw the treasurer's order in favor of the State Treasurer for the full amount of suchbillssubmittedduringthetwelvemonthsnextpreceding.TheState Forest Fire Warden may forgive such bills if the state would incur Public Act No.

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5153 administrative costs in collecting the debt owed that would exceed the actual debt owed.

Bills for expenses incurred or services rendered by district or deputy wardens in the performance of duties other than fire fighting shall be submitted to the State Forest Fire Warden on or before the tenth day of December and the tenth day of June in each year.

Upon approval by the State Forest Fire Warden, such bills shall be ordered paid by the State Comptroller from any sums available for the expenses of the State Forest Fire Warden.

All fire warden bills authorized by sections 23-37, 23-38, 23-40 to 23-42, inclusive, and this section shall show in detail the amount and character of the services performed, the exact duration thereof and all disbursements made by such wardens.

Sec.

14.

Section 23-50 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):

Whenever it appears to the Governor that by reason of extreme drought or other hazardous conditions there is danger of forest fires, [he] the Governor may proclaim [that] one or more of the following:

(1) That any or all sections of woodland and brush land in the state shall be closed, for such time as [he] the Governor may designate, to all persons except the owners or tenants of such woodlands and their agents and employees, and [during such period of closure] (2) that no fire shall be kindled in the open air in any or all areas of the state.

As soon as the woodland is deemed free from the danger of fire, the Governor may revoke [his] such proclamation.

Any person who enters upon forest or brush land, except as provided herein, or who kindles or causes to be kindled a fire in the open air, during the period covered by the Governor's proclamation, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one [hundred] thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than six months or be both fined and imprisoned.

Sec.

15.

Subsection (a) of section 26-136 of the general statutes, as amended by section 6 of public act 26-101, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

Public Act No.

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5153 (a) [Any person] Ten or more persons may submit a petition to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection for a safe, timely and effective fish passage for any hydroelectric dam that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Upon the submittal of such a petition, the commissioner shall determine whether there is a safe, timely and effective fish passage for migratory fish at all life stages upstream and downstream of such dam and associated reservoir.

For purposes of this section, a fish passage is deemed safe, timely and effective if it meets or exceeds the Connecticut River Migratory Fish Restoration Cooperative's fish passage standards developed by the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission.

Sec.

16.

(Effective from passage) ThisGovernor's actAction: shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

SectionApproved 1June from4, passage2026 7-131d(c)Public Sec.Act No.

226-124 from15 passageof 7-131g(c)15 Sec.

3 from passage 22a-202(d) sHB5153 / File No.

87 8 sHB5153 File No.

87 Sec.

4 from passage 22a-201d(d) Sec.

5 from passage 25-231(4) Sec.

6 October 1, 2026 26-86a Sec.

7 October 1, 2026 26-91(b) Sec.

8 October 1, 2026 26-73 Sec.

9 from passage Repealer section ENV Joint Favorable Subst.

sHB5153 / File No.

87 9 sHB5153 File No.

87 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill makes various changes to statutes related to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) that are clarifying, procedural and technical.

These changes do not result in a fiscal impact.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None sHB5153 / File No.

87 10 sHB5153 File No.

87 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 5153 AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS TO DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION RELATED STATUTES.

SUMMARY This bill makes various unrelated changes to Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) statutes, including:

1.

expanding eligibility for Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program (OSWA) and Charter Oak open space grants;

2.

changing the requirements for prioritizing rebates and vouchers issued under the Connecticut hydrogen and electric automobile purchase rebate (CHEAPR) program;

3.

modifying DEEP funding requirements when giving grants for zero-emission school buses and related infrastructure;

4.

removing Connecticut from the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Compact;

5.

amending the definition of “muzzleloader” in the context of deer management;

6.

allowing DEEP to authorize corporate entities to take resident Canadian geese;

7.

modifying the requirements for certain people to hunt on Sundays;

and 8.

making technical and conforming changes.

sHB5153 / File No.

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87 EFFECTIVE DATE:

Upon passage, except the sections on muzzleloaders, Canadian geese, and Sunday hunting are effective October 1, 2026.

§§ 1 & 2 — OSWA GRANTS Land Nearby EJCs OSWA, which DEEP administers, generally gives state grants to municipalities, land trusts, and water companies to buy land to be preserved as open space or water supplies in perpetuity, as applicable.

Current law allows DEEP to award grants to certain municipalities and land trusts to restore or protect open space land they already own.

Under existing law, grants may be made under the program for open space already owned by (1) distressed municipalities, (2) targeted investment communities, (3) municipalities, if the open space is in an environmental justice community (EJC), and (4) nonprofit land conservation organizations, if the land is in a distressed municipality, targeted investment community, or EJC.

The bill expands grant eligibility for municipalities and nonprofit land conservation organizations to target open spaces that are immediately adjacent to EJCs.

By law, an “environmental justice community” is (1) any U.S.

census block group, as determined by the most recent census, for which at least 30% of the population are not institutionalized and have an income below 200% of the federal poverty level or (2) a distressed municipality (CGS § 22a-20a).

Grant Eligibility Exemption for Public Use Land Under existing law, land that is considered already committed for public use is ineligible for OSWA grants or the Charter Oak open space grant program, with some exceptions.

Under current law, any land that is already encumbered by a conservation easement that resulted from a federally funded land conservation program, municipal conservation grant program, or a private conversation program, is generally considered committed to public use unless:

(1) the prior encumbrance is sHB5153 / File No.

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87 executed after the grant agreement’s execution;

(2) at the time of the recording of grant easement, any nonfederal holder of prior easements subordinates its interest in the land to DEEP’s interest;

(3) federal, municipal, or private grant funds are used as matching funds;

and (4) the DEEP commissioner determines, based on all relevant information, that transfer of the other conservation easement and the acquisition constitute one concurrent acquisition of property or property interest.

The bill (1) expands this eligibility authorization to all conservation easements or restrictions, rather than those that resulted from federal, municipal, or private programs and (2) removes the matching funds requirement.

The bill also expands the timing requirement for eligibility.

Instead of requiring the prior encumbrance to be executed after the grant agreement’s execution, the bill instead requires the prior encumbrance to be executed or reserved at least six months before the application deadline for the OSWA grant round.

Lastly, the bill requires nonfederal holders of encumbrances to subordinate their land interest to DEEP’s interest in a way that satisfies the DEEP commissioner.

§ 3 — CHEAPR REBATE ELIGIBILITY By law, the CHEAPR program gives rebates and vouchers to residents, municipalities, businesses, nonprofits, and tribal entities that buy or lease new or used battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles.

CHEAPR rebate and voucher amounts are set administratively by DEEP, subject to certain statutory parameters.

Under current law, DEEP must prioritize the rebates or vouchers to residents (1) of environmental justice communities, (2) with household incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, or (3) who participate in specified state and federal assistance programs.

Current law also requires the rebate or voucher amounts for environmental justice community residents to be at least triple the standard amount.

sHB5153 / File No.

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87 The bill (1) eliminates the requirement that the rebates and vouchers be prioritized for residents of environmental justice communities and (2) requires the rebate or voucher amounts for income-qualified residents be at least double the standard amount.

Under the bill, in consultationwiththeCHEAPRadvisoryboard,theDEEPcommissioner may also prioritize granting rebates or vouchers to non-income qualified residents of EJC communities over other non-income qualified residents.

§ 4 — ZERO-EMISSION SCHOOL BUS AND INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS Current law requires the DEEP commissioner to administer a grant program to give matching funds necessary for municipalities, school districts, and school bus operators to maximize federal funding when submitting federal grant applications for purchasing zero-emission school buses and electric vehicle charging or fueling infrastructure.

The bill reduces this obligation and requires DEEP to give just an unspecified portion of the funds necessary for the above entities to maximize any federal funding or other funding or financing for those purposes.

§§ 5 & 9 — CONNECTICUT RIVER ATLANTIC SALMON COMPACT REPEAL The bill repeals a statute creating the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission and, therefore, removes the state from the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Compact.

The compact was a collaboration between the federal government, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont to promote the restorationoftheAnadromousAtlanticsalmonto theConnecticut River Basin.

Congressional authorization for the commission expired in 2023 and the commission is now defunct.

It has since been replaced by the Connecticut River Migratory Fish Restoration Cooperative, which Connecticut has joined.

§ 6 — MUZZLELOADER DEFINITION By law, no person may hunt, pursue, wound, or kill deer with a sHB5153 / File No.

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87 firearm (including muzzleloaders) without getting a deer permit from the DEEP commissioner, in addition to other licensure requirements.

By law, DEEP must adopt regulations for the standards of deer management and methods, regulated areas, bag limits (numerical limits), seasons, and permit eligibility for hunting deer with a bow and arrow, muzzleloader, or shotgun.

The bill changes the definition of “muzzleloader” to include all rifles and shotguns of at least forty-five caliber, that (1) cannot fire a self- contained cartridge, (2) use a projectile, and (3) are loaded separately at the muzzle end.

Under current law, muzzleloaders must use powder and wadding as well.

§ 7 — CORPORATE CANADIAN GEESE TAKING By law, the DEEP commissioner may authorize municipalities, homeowner associations, or nonprofit land-holding organizations to take (kill) resident Canadian geese at any time or place using any method consistent with professional wildlife management principals.

The bill extends this authorization to include corporate entities, who must follow the existing authorization process.

To be authorized, an entity must submit a plan for the DEEP commissioner’s review and approval describing the (1) extent and degree of the nuisance or ecological damage caused by the geese, and (2) proposed method of taking.

Additionally, the plan (1) must include prohibitions against feeding geese;

(2) must require that landscaping in the area be managed using native planting, so it is less hospitable to geese;

and (3) may not authorize snares.

Before executing its plan, the entity must inform abutting landowners of where the plan will be implemented.

§ 8 — SUNDAY HUNTING REVISIONS Under current law, any person who hunts on private property on Sundays must get and carry written permission on them while they hunt.

The bill (1) exempts people that hunt with a private land turkey hunting permit or a Connecticut Resident Game Bird Conservation sHB5153 / File No.

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87 Stamp issued without a fee from having to do so, and (2) specifies that only people who hunt deer or turkey on Sundays must get and carry written permission.

COMMITTEE ACTION Environment Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 33 Nay 0 (03/04/2026) sHB5153 / File No.

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