House Bill No. 5583

Public Act No. 16-141

AN ACT CONCERNING AN AGREEMENT REGARDING ANNUAL WATER LEVEL DRAW DOWNS AT BASHAN LAKE IN THE TOWN OF EAST HADDAM.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) On or before November 1, 2017, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall enter into an agreement with the town of East Haddam and the Bashan Lake Association regarding a schedule for annual water level draw downs of Bashan Lake. The agreed upon draw down level shall be required to control weeds, prevent property damage and erosion into said lake and prevent reduction in association property values. Such water level draw downs shall be designed to balance the various concerns of the lake community, including recreational needs, preservation of lakefront infrastructure, fisheries habitat and other natural resource concerns. On and after the effective date of this section, the Bashan Lake Association shall monitor Bashan Lake and submit any petition concerning such a draw down to the town of East Haddam not later than sixty days prior to the date of commencement for any such draw down.