AN ACT CONCERNING FISH PASSAGES.

House of Representatives
sHB5520 / File No. 434 1

General Assembly File No. 434
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5520

House of Representatives, April 7, 2026

The Committee on Environment reported through REP.
PARKER of the 101st Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on
the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING FISH PASSAGES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 26 -136 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
[(a) Upon petition of ten or more persons owning property above any 3
dam or artificial obstruction existing on October 1, 1982, built upon any 4
stream, the commissioner shall determine whether such dam or artificial 5
obstruction shall be provided by the person, firm, corporation or 6
municipality or political subdivision thereof, owning or controlling the 7
dam or obstruction with a suitable fishway for the passage of fish. Upon 8
receipt of an application for a permit to construct, rebuild or 9
substantially repair a dam or artificial obstruction built upon any 10
stream, the commissioner shall require the dam or artificial obstruction 11
be provided with a fishway if such a facility is necessary to protect 12
fisheries resources by providing access to natural spawning or nursery 13
areas or to protect the public interest by preventing the loss of a fishery 14
from the area of the dam or artificial obstruction. For the purposes of 15
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this section, "rebuild" or "substantially repair" means any action altering 16
the structure of the dam or artificial obstruction, changing the use of the 17
dam or artificial obstruction or impeding the available free passage of 18
fish. 19
(b) Within thirty days from the receipt of such petition or application, 20
the commissioner shall set a time and place for a hearing thereon, if in 21
the opinion of the commissioner a hearing is reasonable or necessary. 22
(c) Upon determination that a fishway is necessary, the commissioner 23
shall issue an order to the person, firm, corporation or municipality or 24
political subdivision thereof owning or controlling the dam or 25
obstruction to construct a fishway in the form, material, capacity, at such 26
location and within such time as the commissioner establishes. The 27
commissioner shall cause a copy of the order to be served on the person, 28
firm, corporation or municipality or political subdivision thereof. Such 29
fishway shall be constructed and maintained subject to the approval of 30
the commissioner, and shall be kept open and free for the passage of 31
such fish in such manner and during such period as the commissioner 32
requires. If no such period is specified by the commissioner, it shall be 33
kept open and free from April first to November first in each year.] 34
(a) Any person may submit a petition to the Commissioner of Energy 35
and Environmental Protection for a safe, timely and effective fish 36
passage for any hydroelectric dam that is not subject to the jurisdiction 37
of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Upon the submittal of 38
such a petition, the commissioner shall determine whether there is a 39
safe, timely and effective fish passage for migratory fish at all life stages 40
upstream and downstream of such dam and associated reservoir. For 41
purposes of this section, a fish passage is deemed safe, timely and 42
effective if it meets or exceeds the Connecticut River Migratory Fish 43
Restoration Cooperative's fish passage standards developed by the 44
Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission. 45
(b) If the commissioner determines that there is not a safe, timely and 46
effective fish passage, the commissioner shall prescribe, by order, issued 47
to the person, firm, corporation or municipality, or political subdivision 48
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thereof, that owns or controls such dam, the conditions to ensure such a 49
safe, timely and effective fish passage both upstream of such reservoir 50
and downstream of such dam. Such conditions may include, but shall 51
not be limited to, requirements to (1) construct, rebuild and operate 52
fishways, (2) remove any artificial obstructions, and (3) maintain 53
minimum water flows. If the commissioner determines that any existing 54
fish passage structures are ineffective or harmful to aquatic life, the 55
commissioner shall include conditions to remediate such harm, 56
including, but not limited to, removal or reconstruction of the fish 57
passage structures. 58
(c) Not later than one hundred eighty days after submittal of any such 59
petition, the commissioner shall publish notice of the commissioner's 60
tentative determination as to whether there is a safe, timely and effective 61
fish passage. If the commissioner determines that there is not a safe, 62
timely and effective fish passage, the commissioner shall publish a draft 63
order in the commissioner's notice of tentative determination. Such 64
notice shall be published on the Department of Energy and 65
Environmental Protection's Internet web site. The commissioner shall 66
provide a public comment period on such tentative determination of not 67
less than thirty days following publication of such tentative 68
determination and the Department of Energy and Environmental 69
Protection shall hold a public hearing before making any final 70
determination on such petition. The person, firm, corporation or 71
municipality, or political subdivision thereof, that owns or controls any 72
dam that is the subject of such a public hearing shall be deemed to be a 73
party to such hearing. 74
(d) For any dam or artificial obstruction not subject to the provisions 75
of subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner shall, upon petition of 76
ten or more persons that own property above any such dam or artificial 77
obstruction existing on October 1, 1982, built upon any stream, 78
determine whether such dam or artificial obstruction shall be provided, 79
by the person, firm, corporation or municipality, or political subdivision 80
thereof, that owns or controls such dam or obstruction, with a suitable 81
fishway for the passage of fish. 82
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(e) Upon receipt of any application for a permit to construct, rebuild 83
or substantially repair a dam or artificial obstruction built upon any 84
stream, as described in subsection (d) of this section, the commissioner 85
shall require such dam or artificial obstruction be provided with a 86
fishway if such a facility is necessary to protect fisheries resources by 87
providing access to natural spawning or nursery areas or to protect the 88
public interest by preventing the loss of a fishery from the area of the 89
dam or artificial obstruction. For the purposes of this subsection, 90
"rebuild" or "substantially repair" means any action altering the 91
structure of the dam or artificial obstruction, changing the use of the 92
dam or artificial obstruction or impeding the available free passage of 93
fish. 94
(f) Not later than thirty days after receipt of such a petition, as 95
described in subsection (d) of this section, or an application, as described 96
in subsection (e) of this section, the commissioner shall set a time and 97
place for a hearing on such petition or application, as applicable, if, in 98
the opinion of the commissioner, a hearing is reasonable or necessary. 99
(g) Upon a determination that a fishway is necessary pursuant to 100
subsection (d) or (e) of this section, as applicable, the commissioner shall 101
issue an order to the person, firm, corporation or municipality, or 102
political subdivision thereof, that owns or controls such dam or 103
obstruction to construct a fishway in the form, material, capacity, at such 104
location and within such time as the commissioner establishes. The 105
commissioner shall cause a copy of such order to be served on such 106
person, firm, corporation or municipality, or political subdivision 107
thereof. Such fishway shall be constructed and maintained subject to the 108
approval of the commissioner, and shall be kept open and free for the 109
passage of such fish in such manner and during such period as the 110
commissioner requires. If no such period is specified by the 111
commissioner, such fishway shall be kept open and free from April first 112
to November first in each year. 113
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

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Section 1 from passage 26-136

ENV Joint Favorable Subst.

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill makes procedural changes regarding petitioning the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to require
a safe, timely, and effective fish passage to be installed at any
hydroelectric dam that is not subject to federal regulation. T his is not
anticipated to result in a cost to the state as DEEP has the staff and
expertise necessary to complete the requirements contained within the
bill.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5520

AN ACT CONCERNING FISH PASSAGES.

SUMMARY
This bill allows any person to petition the Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection (DEEP) commissioner to require a safe,
timely, and effective fish passage be installed at any hydroelectric dam
that is not subject to federal regulation. (Currently, three such dams exist
in the state.) Under the bill, a fish passage is considered safe, timely, and
effective if it meets or exceeds the Connecticut River Migratory Fish
Restoration Cooperative’s existing standards.
Within 180 days after receiving a petition, the commissioner must (1)
determine if a safe, timely, and effective passage exists upstream and
downstream of the dam and associated reservoir for migratory fish at
all life stages and (2) publish notice of her tentative determination and a
draft order for any action to ensure an adequate passage , if applicable
(see below), on DEEP’s website. The commissioner must allow at least
30 days for public comment on the tentative determination, and DEEP
must hold a public hearing before making a final determination on the
petition. Under the bill, the entity that owns or controls the applicable
dam is deemed a party to the hearing.
If the DEEP commissioner determines a dam does not have an
adequate fish passage, she must issue an order to the entity that owns
or controls the dam prescribing conditions to ensure a safe, timely, and
effective fish passage both upstream of the reservoir and downstream
of the dam. The order may require, among other things, (1) constructing,
rebuilding, and operating fishways; (2) removing any artificial
obstructions; and (3) maintaining minimum water flows. If the
commissioner determines an existing fish passage structure is
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ineffective or harmful to aquatic life, she must also include conditions
for remediating the harm, including removing or reconstructing the
structure.
The bill also makes technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
COMMITTEE ACTION
Environment Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 34 Nay 0 (03/18/2026)