Eightmile River Bill Dammed: The Day (July 16, 2007)

Eightmile River Bill Dammed (The Day)

Protection of the Eightmile River is an important issue to citizens in Connecticut, not a political game.

How could Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives do something so foolhardy?

After 10 years of hard, bipartisan work by local citizens, elected officials and environmental organizations to protect Connecticut's Eightmile River and its rural watershed, GOP clowns made political hay of the effort last week, following the lead of a Utah Republican and defeating the wild and scenic designation for the river.

While the Republican House members cloaked their opposition in concern about the possible use of eminent domain in the watershed, it was really their payback to newly elected Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney, who defeated Republican Rob Simmons for the 2nd Congressional District seat by 83 votes last November.

The Eightmile Wild and Scenic River Act was freshman Rep. Courtney's first bill, and in fact, was introduced by Mr. Simmons last year, but was never considered before Simmons' term ended.

The legislation has had wide support, including from the Bush administration and the National Park Service, the bipartisan Connecticut House delegation, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, and the state legislature, which passed a resolution endorsing the measure.

This was a no-brainer. And it is something that the people in the communities where the Eightmile River is located, East Haddam, Salem and Lyme, have agreed is the best way to provide environmental protection for the stream and make it eligible for federal grants to make permanent the measures assuring its future water quality.

But last Wednesday Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, expressed concern that the bill might damage private property rights by leaving the door open for federal condemnation of land or the placement of restrictions on private property in the watershed. Absolutely not, proponents said. The bill specifically prohibits such actions. And they said Rep. Bishop and other Republicans knew that. It was just their way of getting back at Rep. Courtney.

The eminent domain guise caught proponents off guard, and at least temporarily derailed the long-sought wild and scenic designation.

The vote, which required two-thirds majority for passage, failed 239-173. All of the nay votes were Republican; and of the 239 in favor, Democrats cast all but 18.

How could protecting a river become so political? It never should have happened.

Republican Rep. Chris Shays of Fairfield supported the measure and sent a letter co-signed by Rep. Courtney to fellow congressmen urging passage of the bill, all to no avail. Gov. Rell also intervened.

Now the governor and Rep. Shays need to let Republicans know how petulantly they behaved. The bill is likely to resurface later this summer, and we're hoping it wins widespread approval.

It is also headed to the Senate, where Sens. Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman support it.

The goal here is to protect a river. It is not a game of political one-upmanship. Republicans who voted against the Eightmile River legislation need to act more responsibly.