Candidates running for office to represent the Town of Westport in the upcoming election shared their perspectives on important state environmental issues via a questionnaire from Sustainable Westport. Responses below were provided by candidates running for Connecticut State Senate; District 26 (most of Westport excluding Greens Farms).

Before voting this Tuesday, November 8, be sure to review the responses from the candidates below. A greener, healthier future starts with leaders who understand environmental issues and champion policies that will create positive change.

Toni Boucher

Republican
Connecticut State Senate; District 26

The Energy System for CT: During periods of peak energy use, natural gas sources for electricity production shrink forcing end-of-the-pipe CT to rely on dirtier coal and fossil fuel or pay peak LNG prices – with air-quality and cost downsides.  The obvious long-term, environmentally and economically sustainable solution is to increase renewable sources of energy like procuring offshore wind, building solar infrastructure, or participating in a Hydro-Quebec New England transmission line. Which of these projects would you support and why? Are there any that you do not support and why?

I support all of the above options.  We need an all of the above solutions to our energy demand challenges. The cost of energy in CT is one of the highest in the country. It is sited by residents and businesses as one of the issues they have the most difficulty confronting in their monthly budgets. Right now, the high costs of electricity, NG and home heating oil are unsustainable for many. As a result, we must take a deliberative approach and balance costs with the removal of fossil fuels. Since 40% of all of CT energy needs are supplied by our one nuclear plant, we have an imperative to advance alternative technologies as soon as possible.  Some of the actions I would support include:

Build a 40% renewable energy future by 2030 and creating new, high quality jobs; Implement a comprehensive net metering program, creating fair solar compensation for ratepayers; Expand Shared Solar access; Invest in offshore wind and energy storage; Electrify the transportation sector and accelerate adoption of clean cars; expand energy efficiency programs that cut pollution and save residents and businesses money; Restore clean energy efficiency funds that were raided in 2017; Continue sustained investment in our Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Funds.

Heating Homes: In the last legislative session, an initiative failed that would have prohibited using fossil fuel combustion systems or electrical resistance as the “primary” heating source in any new residential construction or major alteration. This legislation, addressing the demand side of the energy problem, was aggressively opposed by the fossil fuel industry. Would you support a new bill or are there other ways you would encourage and/or mandate the construction of high performance buildings across all sectors? 

High performance building attributes include energy conservation, environment, safety, security, durability, accessibility, cost-benefit, productivity, sustainability, functionality, and operational considerations. High-performance buildings are designed to achieve significant energy conservation and could potentially use 30 percent less energy each year than buildings designed to meet just basic requirements. We need to transform the building industry in the coming years. Since we are in a downturn and costs of implementing this ideal construction model may be more than can be considered feasible at this time.  This is an important conservation goal that should be pursued. I believe it is the future of the building sector.

I would like to see a new bill that includes high performance building sand many other energy conserving and clean technologies including distributed generation, solar, fuel cell technology that is being used widely in Japan

Electric Vehicles: Wide-scale EV deployment is among the primary solutions for achieving the state’s statutorily required economy-wide GHG reduction targets. If a new bill supporting the Sale of Electric Vehicles in CT comes to the floor that would provide customers with the freedom to purchase electric vehicles directly from manufacturers to help transition away from fossil fuels, would you support it, and, if not, how would you suggest the state meet its Zero Emission Vehicle targets?

We have debated this issue for many years in the legislature and I would lean in favor of it depending on the final language proposed. Over time, the traditional automobile companies have developed their own electric vehicles that could compete with companies like Tesla and others

Waste: One of the state’s 5 waste-to-energy facilities closed this year, leaving CT with even fewer options for disposing of municipal solid waste. As a result, we are shipping more and more MSW to out-of-state landfills, leading to increased tipping fees for municipalities. What is your solution to this waste crisis?

We have a modern countertop composting machine in our kitchen for food scraps. This technology can be used on a much larger scale. Plastic free options, smart metering, black fly larvae in landfills are just a few strategies being employed. Ocean floaters are being deployed to pick up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch trash and take it for recycling.  Recycled plastics are being used for applications in roads and roofing materials and recycled glass in building materials, An example is that concrete can someday be replaced with carbicrete which is made with a steel byproducts. Countries are turning waste to energy like Sweden “ Less than 1% of Sweden’s trash is sent to landfills, and over 50% of Swedish household waste is converted into energy to heat their homes. Less than 1% of Sweden’s trash is sent to landfills, and over 50% of Swedish household waste is converted into energy to heat their homes.”

We need to support research and implementation of these and other advancing technologies in addressing our growing waste disposal challenges. We can help by changing how we find solutions in our own homes.

Party position: Do you agree with your party’s position on climate change and environment? What are the areas of overlap and where do you have a different view versus the national platform?

I was the only Republican who voted in favor of CT’s global warning bill in 2008. This bill was proposed by Governor Jodi Rell and the then DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy who later became the US EPA Administrator under President Obama. Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed the bill requiring reductions in the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 10% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 2001 levels by 2050. As a result of this and many other conservation initiatives I was awarded legislative Environmental Champion twice during my time in office.

The party is concerned about the economic impact of moving too quickly, creating spikes in the cost of fuel and electric energy that can have devastating impact on strained home budgets and businesses bottom line. This certainly an issue in Connecticut. I agree, however, that the use tax credits and other incentives to speed up the development of wind, solar, and other low-carbon energy, and to make electric vehicles more affordable are goals that must continue to be pursued sooner than later.

Ceci Maher

Democrat
Connecticut State Senate; District 26

The Energy System for CT: During periods of peak energy use, natural gas sources for electricity production shrink forcing end-of-the-pipe CT to rely on dirtier coal and fossil fuel or pay peak LNG prices – with air-quality and cost downsides.  The obvious long-term, environmentally and economically sustainable solution is to increase renewable sources of energy like procuring offshore wind, building solar infrastructure, or participating in a Hydro-Quebec New England transmission line. Which of these projects would you support and why? Are there any that you do not support and why?

The environmentally and economically sustainable solutions to energy in Connecticut are to increase offshore wind production and build our solar infrastructure. I support the goal of the Hydro-Quebec transmission line, a long-distance high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line between Radisson, Quebec and Westford Road in Ayer, Massachusetts – it would provide stability to the regional New England grid, which has energy prices that are, on average, higher than the rest of the country and the Hydro-Quebec project would significantly increase the total amount of renewable energy available on New England’s energy grid, an important consideration this winter.

I do not think the Hydro-Quebec project should be considered a one-stop solution to the state and the region’s energy system. Instead, we should push for more renewable energy source development and begin transitioning to fully electric buildings.

Heating Homes: In the last legislative session, an initiative failed that would have prohibited using fossil fuel combustion systems or electrical resistance as the “primary” heating source in any new residential construction or major alteration. This legislation, addressing the demand side of the energy problem, was aggressively opposed by the fossil fuel industry. Would you support a new bill or are there other ways you would encourage and/or mandate the construction of high performance buildings across all sectors? 

In the 2022 legislative session, Senate Bill 292, An Act Concerning Heating Efficiency in New Construction and Major Alterations of Residential Buildings, was introduced. Unfortunately, although the bill made it out of the Housing Committee, it never received a vote on the floor of the Senate. I would support and be proud to co-sponsor a new bill with the same or similar legislative intent as SB 292.

Electric Vehicles: Wide-scale EV deployment is among the primary solutions for achieving the state’s statutorily required economy-wide GHG reduction targets. If a new bill supporting the Sale of Electric Vehicles in CT comes to the floor that would provide customers with the freedom to purchase electric vehicles directly from manufacturers to help transition away from fossil fuels, would you support it, and, if not, how would you suggest the state meet its Zero Emission Vehicle targets?

To meet Connecticut’s statutorily required economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets of 45 percent and 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2030 and 2050 – respectively – there must be increased adoption of electric vehicles (as well as plug-in hybrids). I strongly support measures to speed up this transition to EVs. I am in favor of a bill allowing Connecticut residents to purchase electric vehicles directly from manufacturers. Federal tax credits are available for the purchase of new or used electric vehicles by income-qualified buyers and we must make certain that residents are aware of that option.

Waste: One of the state’s 5 waste-to-energy facilities closed this year, leaving CT with even fewer options for disposing of municipal solid waste. As a result, we are shipping more and more MSW to out-of-state landfills, leading to increased tipping fees for municipalities. What is your solution to this waste crisis?

The goal in resolving the waste crisis is two fold, first to reduce packaging at the manufacturing level, and second to reduce volume at the collection point. Raised HB #115 sought to address the packaging reduction effort, though it did not come out of committee this past session. I would support revisiting the effort. The first step for reducing solid waste is to update the state’s solid waste management plan, which was last done in 2016. The current “Comprehensive Materials Management Strategy” (CMMS), which was called for by Public Act 14-94, is overdue to be updated – especially considering the changes to the municipal and solid waste management since the closing of the MIRA Waste-to-Energy plant in Hartford in July of this year. 

A second aspect of solving food waste is to revisit Connecticut’s 2011 commercial food waste ban. This law meant that commercial operators generating 104 tons or more of food waste a year (which comes out to two tons per week) and those within 20 miles of a certified processor, had to divert their food waste. The issue with the 20 miles radius aspect is that there were at the time, and still are, only three commercial composters in the state. These facilities are all near the state’s borders in New Milford, Danbury, and Ellington. Twenty miles from these three locations does not encompass wide swaths of the state, including New Haven, and most of Fairfield County. The first aspect of the 2011 law, the food waste weight, has been changed twice, to little effect. First, the weight was moved down to 1 ton per week with little change. Then, in 2021, the legislature lowered the threshold to half a ton per week. But, again, there was little to noimpact. There were many caveats within the CT’s 2011 law, which – for example – exempted schools. 

Party position: Do you agree with your party’s position on climate change and environment? What are the areas of overlap and where do you have a different view versus the national platform?

I agree with most of the Democratic Party’s national positions regarding climate change and the environment. I believe climate change is real, poses a serious, existential threat, and has thus far had a disproportionate effect on people of color and lower-income individuals. I support the national Democratic Party’s positions when it comes to the following:

• Assisting farmers to be more environmentally conscious (including reducing
• pesticides)
• Conserving public lands and protecting our waterways
• An emphasis on increasing solar and wind energy production
• Energy-saving upgrades to low-income families’ homes/public housing
• Transitioning school buses to zero emissions
• Increasing public transportation infrastructure and access
• A focus on training and educating underrepresented groups (such as POCs, women, low-income individuals, veterans, people with disabilities, and unemployed energy workers) so they can move into technical, well-paying jobs in the growing clean energy sector.