Soundkeeper challenges hedge fund project in Stamford

HARTFORD, Conn. – A nonprofit environmental group filed a complaint against the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development last week arguing that it didn’t do an environmental study before choosing to locate the headquarters of a hedge fund on waterfront property in Stamford.

The 14-acres commonly referred to as “Harbor Point” is expected to be the future headquarters for Bridgewater Associates, a Westport-based hedge fund. It used to be Stamford’s only working boatyard, but the property is now being cleared in anticipation of the Bridgewater project.

Soundkeeper Inc., the nonprofit environmental group headed by state Rep. Terry Backer, filed the lawsuit last week in Hartford Superior Court. The complaint alleges that the Connecticut’s Environmental Policy Act requires every state-approved or state-funded activity that may significantly impact the environment to be evaluated with a report known as an Environmental Impact Evaluation.

The state has approved about $115 million in loans and tax credits for Bridgewater to move its 1,225 employees from Westport to Stamford. In exchange, Bridgewater has promised to create 1,000 more jobs over the next 10 years.

See the complete story at CT News Junkie.