State of Connecticut
Goals and Benchmarks
For the Year 2000 and Beyond
Environmental Awareness and Equity
The continued preservation of our environment depends
upon an ethic that is grounded in environmental awareness
and equity. However, environmental data has generally
been collected for its regulatory and management purposes.
Such monitoring is not sufficient to assess the health of
our environment. It does not provide a systematic, empirical
database, which describes trends in the general environment
and provides a foundation for environmental policy and,
perhaps more importantly, personal decisions. Significant
advances in environmental information and education are
needed to empower citizens to take individual and collective
responsibility for creating and sustaining safe and clean environments.
Connecticut residents and private entities will practice an environmental ethic that is based on an understanding of their environment, their own dependence on it, and how their actions affect it.
1985 1990 1992-4 2000 2005 2010 2015
Percentage of students (K-12)
receiving environmental education
curriculum materials and training 15 40 60 80 100
Percentage of CT residents that
practice an environmental ethic;
examples: water conservation,
energy conservation, recycling,
container deposit redemption,
household hazardous waste collection,
alternative transportation,
participation in environmental
forums, anti-littering, and use
of green products 40 50 60 75
Percentage of CT private entities that
practice an environmental ethic 40 50 60 75
Percentage of identified, critical,
statewide, environmental databases
that are up-to-date and publicly
accessible 15 60 75 100 100
No segment of Connecticut's population will bear a disproportionate share of the risks and consequences of environmental pollution or be denied equal access to environmental benefits.
1985 1990 1992-4 2000 2005 2010 2015
Percentage of contaminated sites in designated categories of distressed communities that have been remediated:
distressed communities 4 5 15 25 30 40
all other communities 6 5 15 20 25 30
Percentage of state park and
recreational facilities accessible
to urban residents by public
transportation 2 10 18 24 30
Number of cities linked by
greenways to large state and
private open space 0 4 21 25 28
Percentage of public recreation programs, facilities, and buildings in compliance with the American Disabilities Act standards
programs 80 100 100 100 100
facilities 5 50 55 60 65
buildings 50 100 100 100 100
Connecticut's urban areas will be revitalized and new growth will be concentrated in compact rural villages and places where infrastructure can be provided consistent with the Conservation and Development Policies Plan 1992-1997.
1985 1990 1992-4 2000 2005 2010 2015
Cumulative number of urban
sites remediated and re-used
of a total identified
inventory 12 80 150 200 250
Percent of development occurring within designated growth areas
Number of new structures developed
in areas of environmental concern:
e.g., water supply watershed,
aquifer protection area, inland
and tidal wetlands, active
farmland, 100 year flood,
and natural areas
Number of waste water
treatment facilities
requiring expansions
or upgrading over the
next twenty years. 26 22 45 32 29 18 13
1985 1990 1992-4 2000 2005 2010 2015
Additional drinking water
treatment facilities that
are required by the Federal
Safe Drinking Water Act (mgd
of needed expansion or upgraded
treatment) 112.9 71.6
Vehicle miles traveled in
CT (data is expressed in
millions of summertime
daily vehicle miles
traveled) 66.2 78.6 89.4 94.5 99.5 104.5
Number of municipalities
utilizing a street tree
inventory as a base for
a program of Urban Forest
Management 3 32 45 55 65 75
See Endnotes on Environmental Awareness and Equity.
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