Conn. Agencies Regs. § 22a-1a-3 - Determination of environmental significance
(a) To determine
whether an action is an action which may significantly affect the environment,
an agency shall:
(1) Consider the direct,
indirect, and cumulative effects of an action as those effects are described in
subsection (b) and (c) of this section, and
(2) Assess the setting, duration,
irreversibility, controllability, geographic scope, and magnitude of those
effects as the potential or actual consequences of an action.
(b)
Direct and indirect
effects. Direct effects are the primary environmental consequences which
would result from the implementation of an action. Indirect effects are the
secondary consequences on local or regional social, economic or natural
conditions or resources which could result from additional activities
(associated investments and changed patterns of social and economic activities)
induced or stimulated by the action, both in the short-term and in the
long-term. As required by subsection (a) of this section, an agency shall
consider direct and indirect effects of an action, including but not limited
to, the following:
(1) Effect on water
quality, including surface water and groundwater ;
(2) Effect on a public water supply system
;
(3) Effect on flooding, in-stream
flows, erosion or sedimentation ;
(4) Disruption or alteration of an historic,
archeological, cultural, or recreational building, object, district, site or
its surroundings;
(5) Effect on
natural communities and upon critical plant and animal species and their
habitat; interference with the movement of any resident or migratory fish or
wildlife species;
(6) Use of
pesticides, toxic or hazardous materials or any other substance in such
quantities as to cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment
;
(7) Substantial aesthetic or
visual effects;
(8) Inconsistency
with:
(A) the policies of the state plan of
conservation and development developed in accordance with section 16a-30 of the
Connecticut General Statutes ;
(B)
other relevant state agency plans; and
(C) applicable regional or municipal land use
plans.
(9) Disruption or
division of an established community or inconsistency with adopted municipal
and regional plans, including impact on existing housing where sections
22a-1b(c) and 8-37t of the Connecticut General Statutes require additional
analysis;
(10) Displacement or
addition of substantial numbers of people;
(11) Substantial increase in congestion
(traffic, recreational, other);
(12) A substantial increase in the type or
rate of energy use as a direct or indirect result of the action;
(13) The creation of a hazard to human health
or safety;
(14) Effect on air
quality;
(15) Effect on ambient
noise levels;
(16) Effect on
existing land resources and landscapes, including coastal and inland
wetlands;
(17) Effect on
agricultural resources;
(18)
Adequacy of existing or proposed utilities and infrastructure;
(19) Effect on greenhouse gas emissions as a
direct or indirect result of the action;
(20) Effect of a changing climate on the
action, including any resiliency measures incorporated into the action;
and
(21) Any other substantial
effect on natural, cultural, recreational, or scenic resources.
(c)
Cumulative
effects. Cumulative effects are the effects on the environment which
result from the incremental impact of the action when considered with past,
present or reasonably foreseeable future actions to be undertaken by the
sponsoring or participating agencies. In reviewing an action for its cumulative
effects as required by subsection (a) of this section, an agency shall consider
that cumulative effects include the incremental effects of similar actions with
similar environmental effects and the incremental effects of a sequence of
actions undertaken pursuant to an ongoing agency program which may have a
significant environmental effect even though the individual component actions
would not.
Notes
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