Page 46 - CLT061421

46 ■ JUNE 14, 2021 CLOSING ARGUMENT

EDITORIAL BOARD

Bad Timing for an Environmental

Brain Drain in Connecticut

sk any resident “What is the biggest
environmental challenge facing Connecti-
Acut?” and you will get answers that range
from climate change, to air and water quality,
to loss of open space and environmental justice.
But there is a bigger threat to environmental pro-
tection in our state that is largely unknown and
seldom discussed: By 2022, retirements at the
Department of Energy and Environmental Pro-
tection (DEEP) will result in the loss of 44% of the
staff in its Environmental Quality Division, and
more than 30% department wide. This looming
state agency human resource crisis is not limited
to DEEP, as the recently released Connecticut
CREATES Project reports. The brain drain, at
DEEP especially, could not come at a worse time
for the environment.
Just 50 years ago, the Connecticut General Connecticut Department of Energy and
Assembly established the Department of Envi- Environmental Protection.
ronmental Protection. Much progress has been man resources, but it has not been—and will not
made since then, especially related to air and be—easy. The CREATES report identified, for ex-
water quality, but we still have a long way to go. ample, that DEEP has an extremely high attrition
Emerging new contaminants are impacting our rate with younger employees, many staying less
water resources. Land development is outpac- than five years and making successional planning
ing our ability to protect farm and forest land. a “pain-point.” The next generation of environ-
We only need to look at this past year to see the mental leaders is just not there in the numbers
vulnerabilities in our food supply system and the DEEP needs.
benefits of our state parks and forests. Combine The report also acknowledges that some person-
these challenges with the imminent impacts of nel including field engineers are highly specialized
climate change and it is obvious that losing close and difficult to replace, as are many in the envi-
to half of DEEP’s most seasoned staff, with their ronmental quality and natural resource division.
institutional knowledge of our state’s environ- Among the several solutions identified in the re-
mental regulations and natural resources, will port is cross-training, but this can only be taken
wreak havoc. The environment and public health so far. An environmental chemist who specializes
will suffer and those most affected will include in air quality has vastly different knowledge and
our most vulnerable communities. skills than a wildlife biologist dealing with an in-
DEEP has been struggling to find ways to creasing black bear population in our urban state.
mitigate the effects of this impending loss of hu- It may be efficient to have some staff who can work

CONNECTICUT
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