Following the Executive Orders issued by Governor Lamont [in March] and the guidelines set forth by the CDC to establish social distancing and limit non-essential contact, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will temporarily close its office locations, including its headquarters at 79 Elm Street, Hartford, effective March 17, 2020 to public visitors as a precautionary measure to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus.
No visitors will be allowed to enter agency buildings unless they are on an approved visitors list. Visitors on this list must be limited to individuals whose physical attendance is necessary and must be signed off by agency head or designee. The list will be maintained by Statewide Security and reviewed by Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Facilities Management.
The majority of DEEP staff have transitioned to telework, and the Department is working to maintain continuous operation of its programs and functions to the greatest extent possible during this public health emergency. During this time, members of the public are encouraged to use DEEP’s online services as much as possible. Services that were previously available to in-person visitors at 79 Elm Street may be accessible online, including:
- Select documents including Hazardous Waste Manifests are now electronically accessible on the DEEP Document Online Search Portal: https://filings.deep.ct.gov/DEEPDocumentSearchPortal/
- Hunting and fishing licenses/permits can be purchased at https://ct.aspirafocus.com/internetsales or at certain retail locations listed at https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Hunting/CT-Hunting-and-Trapping or https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Fishing/CT-Fishing
- If you are looking to submit or pay for Boating and Fishing Permits and Registrations, Radiation Registrations (DTX and RMI), Stormwater Registrations (Construction, Industrial and No Exposure) or Underground Storage Tank Notifications please visit our ezFile website: https://filings.deep.ct.gov/deepportal/account/logindetails
Access to DEEP’s records center at 79 Elm Street, Hartford is not available to the public, but certain records may be available for retrieval depending on staff availability. Requests for records should be sent to DEEP.RecordsCenter@ct.gov.
Outdoor areas at state parks and forests currently remain open. Visitors to those areas are encouraged to use social distancing to safely enjoy outdoor recreation activities.
Additionally, the DEEP announced that as a precaution to limit the risks presented by the Coronavirus, it is closing to the public certain satellite office locations, branch facilities, and high-traffic visitor centers within State Parks and Forests. At this time, all trails and outdoor facilities of the Connecticut State Parks and Forests will remain open to the public.
The visitor centers closed to the public include:
- Meigs Point Nature Center at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison
- Kellogg Environmental Center in Derby
- Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill
- Gillette Castle Visitors Center in East Haddam
- Putnam Memorial State Park Visitors Center in Redding
- Fort Trumbull State Park Visitor and Conference Centers in New London
- Sessions Woods Conservation Center in Burlington
- Franklin Swamp Wildlife Conservation Center in Franklin
- Goodwin Forest Conservation and Education Center, Hampton
Also closed to the public, effective immediately, are the following DEEP facilities:
- Kensington, Quinebaug and Burlington Fish Hatcheries
- Marine District Headquarters in Old Lyme
- Eastern District Headquarters in Marlborough
- Western District Headquarters in Harwinton
Please visit DEEP’s website at www.ct.gov/DEEP for the latest updates on DEEP’s programs and services.