Slimy salamander may play key role in solar fight

Residents against proposed array on Candlewood Mountain

NEW MILFORD —Local residents are continuing their fight against a controversial solar project in New Milford they say would have “devastating” effects on the area.

The group, known as Rescue Candlewood Mountain, has been advocating for years against a solar project that would result in tens of thousands of solar panels on the mountain. The group met Thursday night to receive an update and press forward with their efforts.

In the spring, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection determined future plans from Candlewood Solar would have to be filed under an individual permit if they wanted to move forward with a proposed project on Candlewood Mountain.

Candlewood Solar hasn’t submitted an individual permit yet, a lawyer from the firm representing New Milford and Rescue Candlewood Mountain said Thursday, but they have put in a Natural Diversity Data Base request to DEEP’s wildlife division.

“What it is is a filing that asks the wildlife division to look at the site and look at whether there are any endangered or threatened species as set forth in DEEP’s statement of what those species are,” said Dan Casagrande, a lawyer with Cramer & Anderson, in the

Rescue Candlewood Mountain meeting. “And they asked the wildlife division to essentially sign off on the project before they filed another application.”

The project would produce up to 20 megawatts of power to the electrical grid, according to Ameresco, the company proposing the project. The company notes on its website it expects to create 100 jobs and that $2.7 million would be paid in lieu of taxes on the parcel.

People in favor of the project point to the benefits of establishing an alternative energy source, and point to the revenue for New Milford. Those opposed worry about the environmental impact clearcutting tens of acres would have, with some saying they’re not opposed to having alternative energy sources, just its location.

New Milford has submitted a petition to pursue a declaratory ruling — which is still pending — on Oct. 6 along with a report from a herpetologist, Casagrande said. In those documents, they detailed the “devastating” effects the development would have on the Northern Slimy Salamander, a threatened species that inhabits the mountain, he added.

“It’s critical to DEEP, and they’ve indicated that in prior rulings, that the project is not going to go forward if it has a material effect on the slimy salamanders,” Casagrande said.

If an individual permit is submitted, a “full vetting and a public hearing process” would take place, Casagrande said.

The slimy salamanders wouldn’t be the only species the project affects — two of the 20 amphibian and reptile species that live on the mountain are of “special concern,” while one is “threatened” in the state’s Endangered Species Act, said Catherine Rawson, the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy’s executive director, in the meeting. Others are flagged in the state’s wildlife action plan as species needing to be conserved, she said.

The mountain also has “core forests” — older, densely-forested areas that serve as “refuges for rare plants and animals,” Rawson said.

“There is no other place in New Milford like this,”

she said.

Though the project got the green light from the Connecticut Siting Council in 2017, getting the OK from DEEP is the final move required for the project to

proceed. The state agency-wouldn’t approve the project’s stormwater management plan in May.

Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media Joel Lindsay, with Ameresco Candlewood Solar LLC, leads a walking tour for the state Siting Council on Sept. 17 of the area where solar panels are proposed on Candlewood Mountain in New Milford.