The obligation to end Hartford’s cycle of environmental injustice
As of Sept. 30, the state of Connecticut became the owner of Capitol District Energy Center, a three-decade-old fossil fuel plant with a history of polluting Hartford’s air and endangering our health. Capitol District Energy was built in 1988 and is located near residential neighborhoods and the state Capitol. Currently, the plant provides heating and cooling to 15 local buildings and is in need of repairs. As the plant’s new owner, the state will soon need to find a viable replacement for this power plant.
Hartford’s population is more than
80% Black and Latino residents. Its median household income is the lowest in Connecticut, and it has the highest rate of asthma emergency room confinements in the state. Methane gas, often called “natural” gas, is known to trigger asthma attacks in those who have asthma. According to reports from the NAACP and others, Black and Latino people are more likely to live near methane gas power plants, pipelines and other infrastructure, which contributes to their higher rates of asthma attacks, disability and death. Previously home to one of the largest trash-burning plants in the country, Hartford is designated a U.S. “asthma capital” by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and an environmental justice community by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Although the state has yet to announce its plan for Capitol District Energy’s future, the environmentally conscious and just choice is clear. If Connecticut is dedicated to reaching its climate goals and ensuring community health, Capitol District Energy needs a 100% clean energy replacement. Any attempt to replace the plant with a fossil-fueled alternative will work against our state’s ambitious climate goals and continue a legacy of environmental injustice in Hartford.
To cover up the power plant’s failings with another gas-powered band-aid would also go against Gov. Ned Lamont’s word. In 2021, the governor signed Executive Order 21-3, committing to retrofit all existing fossil fuel-based heating and cooling systems in state buildings to systems that run without carbon-emitting fuels by 2023. Ten of the buildings heated and cooled via the Capitol District plant are state buildings, including the Legislative Office Building, Connecticut Supreme Court, the State Office Building and the Hartford State Armory, which is a disaster and emergency operations center.
In the case of West Virginia v. EPA in June, the Supreme Court narrowed the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to effectively address climate pollution from power plants like Capitol District Energy. Following this decision, more onus than ever falls on state decision-makers to protect their communities from pollutants that dirty our air and damage our health. As the owner of a polluting plant, the state has the power to do just that here in Hartford.
The state has an obligation to end the city’s cycle of environmental injustice by ensuring that the replacement power plant does not add to Hartford’s pollution, which is second only to Bridgeport, another environmental justice community, as having the highest non-traffic air pollution sources in Connecticut. Clean energy, in state buildings and one day in all buildings, is what Connecticut needs to ensure healthy, just communities today and a safe, habitable planet tomorrow. The state must take this opportunity to act now.