In 1971, the General Assembly enacted the Environmental Protection Act of 1971 (CEPA), Connecticut General Statutes §§ 22a-14 through 22a-20. Section 22a-15 declares that “[i]t is hereby found and declared that there is a public trust in the air, water and other natural resources of the state of Connecticut and that each person is entitled to the protection, preservation and enhancement of the same. It is further found and declared that it is in the public interest to provide all persons with an adequate remedy to protect the air, water and other natural resources from unreasonable pollution, impairment or destruction.”
CEPA’s two primary remedies are (1) Section 22a-16 which allows any person to seek injunctive relief “for the protection of the public trust in the air, water, and other natural resources of the state from unreasonable pollution, impairment or destruction;” and, (2) intervention pursuant to Section 22a-19. Only Section 22a-19 intervention will be discussed in this article.
