Transcribed from the CT-N broadcast of the public hearing of the Environment Committee on February 27, 2008 - in reference to Senate Bill 362, An Act Concerning Riverfront Protection:

"Let's take the Thames River, for instance...I may be missing something, but if you have a 100 foot area that you really can't have any activity that in any way would affect the Thames River, essentially you wouldn't have any development along the river bank which, in my case I'm interested in having a container facility built in New London along the waterfront.  Now that's a river that flows into Long Island Sound.  This would prohibit it, I think."

Later in the same public hearing:

"I've had a particular interest in 362 and I did look at the Massachusetts bill which does say 200 feet but it also has exemptions for certain urban rivers or urban areas and makes it 25 feet.  We don't have that in our bill and I have a concern, among others, that when we include any river that runs to Long Island Sound, we're including the Connecticut River, the Housatonic River, the Thames River, which have major development along them, and I'm wondering if you could remark on whether we should have some exceptions for those river water bodies."

Later in the same public hearing:

"I used as an example earlier the possibility of building something new, a container facility, in New London, on the Thames River.  This would prevent that, if you could not build within 100 feet of the riverbank.  Essentially this would be prohibited, would it not?"