Connecticut Environmental Policy Act
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The Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA) establishes environmental policy for the U.S. state of Connecticut. It requires an Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE) for any state action which could potentially impact the natural environment. The lead agency is responsible for preparing the EIE, which is reviewed and approved by the Office of Policy and Management once it is completed.
Section 22a, Chapter 439 of the Connecticut General Statutes details the state's environmental policy and the EIE requirements of state agencies under CEPA. The objectives of CEPA are described in Section 1(b) of the act:
[I]t is the continuing responsibility of the state government to use all practicable means, consistent with other essential considerations of state policy, to improve and coordinate state plans, functions, programs, and resources to the end that the state may: (1) Fulfill the responsibility of each generation as trustee of the environment for succeeding generations; (2) assure for all residents of the state safe, healthful, productive, and esthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings; (3) attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other undesirable and unintended consequences; (4) preserve important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our Connecticut heritage, and maintain, wherever possible, an environment which supports diversity and variety of individual choice; (5) achieve an ecological balance between population and resource use which will permit high standards of living and a wide sharing of life's amenities; (6) enhance the quality of renewable resources and approach the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resources; and (7) practice conservation in the use of energy, maximize the use of energy efficient systems and minimize the environmental impact of energy production and use.[1]