Hearing on Wake Surfing in CT set for Wednesday March 4, 11 am.
A billl to regulate wake surfing on all of Connecticut’s lakes (Raised Bill 313) was added to the State Legislature’s Environment Committee’s calendar. A public hearing on the Bill is scheduled for March 4th at 11:00 am.
Raised Bill No. 313 Introduced by:
AN ACT CONCERNING WAKESURFING ON CERTAIN LAKES IN THE STATE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) No person shall operate a wake boat upon the waters of any lake in the state for the purpose of conducting, or enabling any other person to conduct, wakeboarding or wakesurfing unless such operation occurs not less than two hundred feet from the shore of any such lake. Nothing in this section shall be construed to: (1) Prohibit any municipality from requiring that any such operation occur at a distance greater than two hundred feet from shore, or (2) negate or preempt any prohibition on the use of wake boats on any lake that borders the towns of Warren, Washington and Kent. For the purposes of this section, "wake boat" means any vessel that uses ballast tanks, wake shapers, hydrofoils or similar devices that are designed to artificially increase or enhance the wake of such vessel. (Our emphasis.)
We need supporters of the ban on wake surfing to testify — in person, via Zoom, or in writing.
Please sign up to testify on March 4th. We need Hartford to know we care.
Click here and use the links “Register to Speak” (either in person or via Zoom) and/or “Submit Written Testimony”.
Each speaker will have only three minutes to express their views.
There are several bills on the agenda for this hearing and the bills are not heard in order.
You must register before 3 pm on Tuesday March 3rd in order to get a time slot in which to testify.
Guidance for your testimony
State that you support RB 313 because it protects the ban that was overwhelming approved with 78% of the vote.
Share your reason for supporting the ban, including your personal story about how wake surfing negatively impacted you and our family, and interfered with your enjoyment of the Lake.
Explain that you support RB 313 because it gives communities like our the ability to pass more restrictive rules for wake surfing.
Voters in Washington, Warren and Kent voted 78% to 22% to ban wake surfing on Lake Waramaug.
Thank you to everyone who supported this cause.
Wake surfing should be banned because it . . .
Endangers the safety of everyone else on the lake. Churns up sediment up to 26 feet deep. Erodes the shoreline. Destroys underwater plants and fish habitats. Risks the introduction of invasive plants and animals. Stirs up toxic bacteria in deeper water. Damages docks on the lake. Disturbs and destroys natural shoreline nesting areas. Degrades water quality. Disrupts thermoclines. Tosses moored and docked boats. Endangers people sitting on floating docks. Unsafe for young children on public beaches . . .