Politics & Government

Meet The DEEP

Environmental Protection Merges With New Energy Division

With the start of the state's new fiscal year on Friday, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) was born, charged with the dual responsibilities of creating a new energy future for the state and protecting Connecticut's environment and natural resources.

DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty said in a press release, "With the launch of our new agency, Connecticut is taking a positive step forward to fulfill Governor Malloy's vision of building a sustainable and prosperous economy for the future.  We will be a national leader in integrating energy and environmental policy.  We will bring down the cost of electricity to make our state more competitive.  We will promote energy efficiency.  And we will encourage the development and use of clean energy technologies."

“We will also move to protect our environment in new ways,” Esty said.  “We will bring a renewed spirit of innovation to pollution control, conservation of our natural resources and management of our parks and forests.”

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DEEP brings together the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) and an energy policy group that had been based at the Office of Policy and Management.  Legislation to create the new agency was approved by overwhelming, bipartisan majorities in both houses of the General Assembly and will be signed into law by Governor Malloy as Public Act 11-80.

The new agency consists of three divisions:

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  • Environmental Quality
  • Includes environmental regulatory programs designed to protect the quality of Connecticut's air, water and land.
  • Environmental Conservation
  • Oversees Connecticut's impressive network of 107 state parks, 32 state forests and is also responsible for fisheries and wildlife management issues.
  • Energy
  • Includes a new Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), which reviews rates for electricity, water, cable television and other utilities as well as a Bureau of Energy and Technology, which will develop forward-looking energy efficiency, infrastructure and alternative power programs.  

The new agency also introduced a new website at www.ct.gov/deep and a new logo.  Websites previously maintained by DEP, www.ct.gov/dep, and DPUC, www.ct.gov/dpuc, are also continuing to function.  The main offices for environmental programs will continue be 79 Elm St., Hartford, which has been the home base for DEP.  Utilities regulation will continue to be based at 10 Franklin Square, New Britain, which has been home to the DPUC.

Esty said, "Connecticut now has a real focus on energy policy and its relationship to our environmental challenges.  By bringing together energy functions that have been scattered around state government with our environmental agency we have created a platform that will allow Connecticut to tackle critical issues we face in the 21st century."


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