New Millstone Point Dock Aids Coast Guard, Police

• State environmental staff members enforcing lobster-catching rules and state police or U.S. Coast Guard vessels requiring access to Millstone Power Station in an emergency now have a new floating dock from which to work.
• The state Department of Environmental Protection spent two years getting permits for the 50-foot by 8-foot dock, which floats without pilings on a “helix mooring” and moves up and down with the tides, said DEP Spokesman Dennis Schain.
• “It is in a protected cove that is one of few sites on the coast permitting ready access to water 365 days a year,” Schain said.
• Located at Millstone Point on the southwest part of Niantic Bay, the dock cost $72,000 and was paid for with money from a National Marine Fisheries Service grant program intended to support state efforts to enforce marine and marine-fishing laws, according to Schain.
• The dock will also be available when equipment is shipped in by barge to the nuclear-power complex and makes access for security reasons possible, said Pete Hyde, spokesman for Millstone owner Dominion.
• “In the event of an elevated threat, if the DEP wanted to, they could place a vessel at this dock and have immediate access to Niantic Bay,” said Hyde. “Strategically, it's a vital area, especially in terms of the ability to respond quickly to any threats from the water.”
• An old dock at the site fell into disrepair some time ago, Hyde said.
• The DEP's Environmental Conservation Police division is in charge of enforcement of boating-safety and fish and game laws at all DEP properties. The DEP's 42-foot Guardian patrol boat enforces commercial fishing laws and can serve as a rescue boat. Another 29-foot vessel is dedicated to enforcement and homeland security, Lewis said. A heated command-post trailer with full communications gear has also been installed at the foot of the dock, Schain said.
• The state will be “in and out of there on a daily basis,” Lewis said. “It is a federally recognized federal security zone. Eyes and ears will be out there.”
• DEP also regularly patrols in Old Lyme at the mouth of the Connecticut River, he said, but the Millstone Point dock now provides a quick response to eastern Long Island Sound and the Fishers Island area.
• The new dock was first used for a security meeting on June 6, Lewis added.
• DEP obtained permits from its Office of Long Island Sound Programs and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the project. (New London, The Day)