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Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill designed to lessen the impact of development on rivers and streams and the corridors that run alongside them. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports

Under the state’s current Wetlands and Watercourses Act every town has the right to review and restrict a development if it has an impact on a wetlands or a stream. But Kirt Mayland of Trout Unlimited says the law isn’t working.

"Towns frequently get bowled over by wealthy developers with their lawyers and engineers. Now we see as much development streamside now as we had even this Inland Wetland and Watercourses Act."

That’s why Mayland and others are calling for a 100 foot buffer next to rivers and streams. Mayland says the buffer acts like a sponge stopping pollutants before they run into the water. The latest version of the bill would not stop development within the buffer, but would require municipal wetlands commissions to consider the impact on wildlife, trees and water quality before approving a project.

However, opponents, like developer Liz Verna of the Home Builders Association of Connecticut says the areas along rivers are already protected.

“What about the farmers that want to sell their land to a developer some day? Where are their property rights? You know I just think it’s another way to stop development, which we have local wetlands commissions already regulating this area so why do we need another level involved?”

The state’s Planning and Development Committee is expected to take up the bill by Monday. For WNPR I’m Nancy Cohen.