PRESS RELEASE

DEEP Announces Restriction of Oversized Vessels for Boating on Candlewood Lake

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced new regulations concerning the length of boats on Candlewood Lake will go into effect today, March 6th. Boats 26-feet in length or greater (both power and sail) are now restricted from Candlewood Lake unless they have been authorized for use by the Commissioner of the DEEP.

Authorization to operate will be given to oversized boats that have historically been used on Candlewood Lake. Owners of oversized boats who wish to continue to use them on Candlewood Lake will need to apply to the DEEP for an authorization decal for their boat, which will remain on the boat for life. That authorization remains with the boat, regardless of the owner. Marine dealers located in one of the five municipalities surrounding Candlewood Lake who have oversized boats in stock or on order may also apply for authorization decals for those boats. Commercial and governmental boats are exempt from this regulation.

“Restricting vessel length on Candlewood Lake will have positive effects on access, pumpout facilities, noise pollution, user conflict, and safety” said Susan K. Whalen, Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “The regulations will not have an impact on trailerable vessels which are under 26-feet in length and will mostly impact lakeshore residents and those that use nearby marinas.”

Additional Information
Through Special Act 10-3, the legislature of the State of Connecticut directed the DEEP to amend the state’s regulations in order to restrict vessel length on Candlewood Lake. Any questions regarding this regulation can be directed to Eleanor Mariani, Boating Division Director, by telephone at (860) 434-8638. Questions can also be emailed to Timothy Delgado in the Boating Division at timothy.delgado@ct.gov

Obtaining an Authorization Decal
Forms to apply for authorization of an oversized boat are now available on the DEEP Boating website. A limited number of forms have been supplied to the Candlewood Lake Authority. For the time being, all completed forms and supporting materials should be mailed to the Boating Division of the DEEP for processing at the following address:
DEEP Boating Division
P.O. Box 280 (333 Ferry Road)
Old Lyme, CT 06371-0280

Applicants should allow three weeks for processing of the application. Marine Dealers have until May 5, 2013 to request an authorization decal for boats that are in stock or on order as of March 5, 2013. All others have until December 2014 to request an authorization decal.

Thanks! Great news.

About time! Those boats belong elsewhere.

There are/were some really big boats on Candlewood.

The Boating Division did a study and had all the stats. I don't have them handy but I'll see if I can find them.

UPDATE - got this from Boating Division - They surveyed and found 110 boats over 26 feet on Candlewood. They are figuring no more than 150 will probably end up being grandfathered. Apparently they missed a few when they did the survey. No info as to the percentage that were owned by lake residents vs non-residents.

As much as I find it annoying wrt big boats and their wake etc, I detest how the government can mandate something like this and then exempt themselves.

hell i dont have to trailer it

Sec. 15-136. Ordinances and regulations. (a) Any town, by ordinance, may make local regulations respecting the operation of vessels on any body of water within its territorial limits. Upon adoption, each such ordinance shall be submitted to the commissioner and, if not disapproved by him within sixty days thereafter, shall take effect as provided in subsection (c) of this section. The commissioner may disapprove any ordinance or part thereof which he finds to be arbitrary, unreasonable, unnecessarily restrictive, inimical to uniformity or inconsistent with the policy of this part.

(b) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, respecting the operation of vessels on any body of water which lies within the territorial limits of two or more towns (1) when no local regulations exist or (2) when such action is required to establish uniformity in the boating regulations of the several towns. Any town, by vote of its legislative body, and any group of ten or more interested persons may petition the commissioner for the adoption, amendment or repeal of the regulations. The commissioner shall hold a public hearing on each such petition in the petitioning town or in one of the towns which will be affected, giving all interested persons an opportunity to present their views. Notice of such hearing, stating the date, time and place thereof and the substance of the proposed regulation, shall be published at least ten days prior thereto in a newspaper of general circulation in the town or towns which will be affected.

(c) All regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this section shall take effect upon their publication and posting as required by section 15-138.

(1961, P.A. 520, S. 16; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 380; P.A. 91-91, S. 1, 3.)

History: 1971 act replaced "commission", i.e. boating commission, with "commissioner", i.e. environmental protection commissioner; P.A. 91-91 deleted reference to "special" regulations, eliminated requirement of finding of emergency by commissioner and made the regulations adopted pursuant to this section effective upon their publication and posting pursuant to Sec. 15-138 where previously effective on the April first following adoption except in emergency situations.

quote=triton186]so they know there's a problem, and the way they "fix" it is to allow even more of the big boats on the water...pure government genius [/quote]

It wouldn't be fair to the retailers who already had 26'+ in inventory with the thought that their potential customers would be using them on Candlewood, looks like the DEEP estimated that it would only be a handful.