The Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved legislation that would provide funds for environmental preservation and conservation efforts across Connecticut, Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman announced today. Dodd and Lieberman secured funding for a number of Connecticut projects in the appropriations bill that covers the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other independent federal agencies.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) announced today that the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection will receive a grant for $219,563 from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.  The grant money will be used to compile reports on quota monitoring, stock assessment, development, evaluation of fishery management plans (FMPs) and management measures, and to provide this information to marine staff.  The grant also provides funds for enforcement of Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission management plans.

"Today we honor the thousands and thousands of men and women whose sacrifice has paid for our freedom and safety. Every day America thrives is a silent tribute to them; but today above all, we pause our lives, bow our heads, and remember that all we hold dear is founded on their blood.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) secured $ 45 million in authorized spending for Connecticut water resource projects in a bill that passed the Senate today.  The bill, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, gives the Army Corps of Engineers authority to undertake essential water resource studies and to construct and modify water resource projects.

The Eastern Connecticut State University and Waterbury Fire Departments will receive more than $89,000 in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) announced today. The funding will be used for fire prevention. 

“We count on firefighters to keep our families, friends, and communities safe,” said Dodd. “They are willing to risk their lives on a daily basis to protect us, and it is only right that we provide them with adequate funding to acquire the training and equipment necessary for them to do their jobs safely and effectively.”   

Connecticut’s Congressional delegation urged the Bush Administration to provide federal relief funds to help repair damage caused by the devastating nor’easter that hit the region last month.  In a letter to President Bush and Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Director Arthur Cleaves, the delegation calls on the administration to grant the state’s request for federal assistance.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), along with Senators Lieberman (I-CT), Kennedy (D-MA), and Kerry (D-MA), today introduced a bill that would reauthorize the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley Heritage Corridor (QSHC) through 2015. Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Congressman Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.