Confusion battles with suspicion over budget amendment that orders DEEP to issue temporary transfer station permit.

The passage of the budget usually allows the House and Senate to relax and take a victory lap. Thirteen lines in an amendment to the budget has caused legislators and other to wonder what they have done. The section, posted above, takes the unusual step of requiring the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) “to grant the owner of the Wallingford Transfer Station a temporary operating permit….”

The amendment appears to have surprised DEEP. The agency was scrambling Tuesday to learn more about where this curious provision originated. Governor Lamont may want assurances that there is nothing in this provision that could embarrass him as he ponders a post-session announcement on whether he will seek a third term. The refuse business, as Daily Ructions readers aware of what can happen in the shadows, makes even the most steely government official uneasy.

Updates as events require.

published June 3, 2025.