Residential development in areas subject to flooding and coastal storm damage would be subject to new state reviews under proposed climate change legislation submitted by Gov. Ned Lamont. iStock photo
Citing the need for Connecticut to update its coastal permitting and property insurance requirements to reflect climate change, Gov. Ned Lamont is seeking sweeping changes for review by state legislators.
Citing rainstorms and flash flooding in 2024 that killed three people and caused nearly $300 million in damage, Lamont’s bill seeks to expand required disclosures about flood insurance when a property changes hands.
The legislation submitted in February requires written disclosure of the option to buy flood insurance for all properties, not just those located in FEMA-designated flood zones as required under current law.
Lamont’s proposal prompted immediate pushback from the Insurance Association of Connecticut.
In an interview, Eric George, president of the Hartford-based trade group, pointed to inconsistencies in the bill’s language, including the requirement that insurance brokers offer flood insurance to all buyers. Only a handful of private insurers offer flood insurance in Connecticut, George said, raising questions about the implementation of the new requirement.
“It’s a very limited market and there are very few carriers, so it doesn’t work for everybody,” George said. “You can’t offer something you don’t have.”
Homeowners also have the option of obtaining flood insurance from the federal government through the National Flood Insurance Program.
The bill also raises liability concerns for insurers, George said, if a homeowner declines coverage but the insurer is unable to retrieve documentation due to data breaches, George said.
The association supports the overarching goals of the legislation, and is willing to partner with state officials on a public awareness campaign on the availability of flood insurance, George said
New Development Permitting Rules at Stake
Along with the new insurance requirements for existing structures, Lamont is seeking to expand the range of properties subject to state reviews.
Recent climate-triggered events included the near-failure of the Fitchville Pond Dam in Bozrah in January 2024 and a floods in September that collapsed two bridges in the northeastern Connecticut town of Scotland.
“We must make changes to the way we prepare and respond to the impacts of climate change by directing development to less risky areas,” Lamont said in a fact sheet issued upon filing of the legislation.
Currently, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection reviews certain developments in coastal areas.
Lamont’s proposal adds new requirements for state DEEP reviews of properties that contain tidal wetlands, beaches or dunes, or are located within FEMA-designated areas subject to flooding or moderate wave action.
Under the changes, the DEEP commissioner would be given the opportunity to submit comments to local Zoning Commissions and Zoning Boards of Appeal before their decisions.
The bill also prohibits state funding, or federal funding administered by state agencies, from being spent on residential construction in the expanded review zones, effective Dec. 1.
And it adds new responsibilities for local communities to take the latest climate change forecasts into consideration while drawing up land use, transportation and evacuation plans.
Starting Oct. 1, communities will be required to take sea level rise into effect when drawing up hazard mitigation and municipal evacuation plans.
Commercial developers group NAIOP Connecticut & Suburban New York did not respond to requests for comment on the legislation.
