The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has rejected the stormwater management plan for the controversial Candlewood Solar project,under the general permit.  This delays its construction on Candlewood Mountain again. 

DEEP is now requiring any new plan be submitted under stricter individual permit, a request from New Milford officials earlier this year.  The individual permit process will trigger a public hearing to allow for open vetting of the stormwater and erosion-control aspects of the 20 megawatt Project and their consequences to the water and other natural resources of the state.  

In March 2019, DEEP Commissioner Katherine Dykes rejected Candlewood Solar’s stormwater management plan certification, citing substantial flaws and even raising doubts about the future of the embattled solar power generation Project.  The petition says there are enormous environmental consequences, risks, and implications with the Project. 

Opponents of the project say it would destroy 54 acres of core forest.  Stormwater Management Plan approval is the last hurdle before work can begin on the Project, which the Connecticut Siting Council approved in 2017.  The group Rescue Candlewood Mountain and have filed an appeal of the Siting Council’s approval. A trial got underway at the end of 2018 and is ongoing.