After a storm caused devastating flooding last month in western Connecticut, residents in Hartford fear they could be next.
“It’s a cautionary tale,” community activist Bridgitte Prince said.
Steven Harris is a native of Hartford’s North End and like many others in his neighborhood, he has dealt with flooding.
“Folks need to have their problems with flood and their basements with feces and other crap mitigated,” the retired firefighter said.
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On Monday, Harris and Prince, alongside environmental lawyer Cynthia Jennings, met with Deputy Commissioner Emma Cimino of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
“This is critical,” Prince said. “We’re at a critical junction, specifically because of climate change.”
The meeting was called to discuss federal funding, which they say the North End is entitled to through the Justice 40 Initiative, which sets aside federal funding for disadvantaged communities.
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The funds will go towards separating the sewage from the storm water system and dredging the North Branch Park River in Hartford.
“If it’s not dredged, we are at risk of in the next storm, it becoming a situation like it is in Oxford,” Prince said.
DEEP said the conversations on Monday were a continuation of conversations the two parities have been having since 2023 when Governor Lamont committed $85 million of state funds towards the sewage overflows in North Hartford.
