The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall, with the approval of said commission and in the manner provided in section 22a-25, acquire in the name of the state interests less than fee in lands and waters, including scenic easements and development rights, necessary and applicable to the preservation of the Connecticut River as provided in section 25-102a within the area encompassed by the towns of Old Saybrook, Essex, Deep River, Chester, Haddam, East Haddam, Lyme and Old Lyme, provided he shall not so acquire the title to scenic easement and development rights with respect to more than twenty-five hundred acres and provided interests in lands and waters held by trusts for conservation purposes or municipally owned lands and waters shall not be subject to condemnation. The commissioner shall be guided in making such acquisitions by the recommendations of the committee made under subsection (a) of section 25-102d and by any modifications which the commission may make to such recommendations. Funds for such acquisitions shall be made available from the proceeds of bonds authorized under subdivision (9) of subsection (b) of section 2 of special act 73-74. Interests less than fee acquired by the commissioner by gift or devise shall not be applied against the twenty-five hundred acres referred to in this section. Interests acquired by purchase, at less than fair market value, as determined by the appraisal of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, shall be applied against said twenty-five hundred acre limitation to the extent of the percentage of purchase price to fair market value.

(P.A. 73-349, S. 10, 11; P.A. 74-103, S. 7, 10; P.A. 75-370, S. 2, 3; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 74-103 specified that “interests less than fee acquired by the commissioner by gift or devise shall not be applied against the 2,500 acres referred to in this section”; P.A. 75-370 required that commissioner be guided by modifications to recommendations made by Commission and specified that interests acquired by purchase at less than fair market value “shall be applied against said twenty-five hundred acre limitation to the extent of the percentage of purchase price to fair market value”; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” and “Department of Environmental Protection” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” and “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011.