Soundkeeper - History

History

After years of repeated public health shellfishing harvest closures caused by malfunctioning municipally owned sewage treatment plants local fishermen in Norwalk, CT sought a legal remedy to a problem that was causing great economic hardship. Terry Backer and Chris Staplefelt were referred by Bob Gaberilson a Nyack, New York Shad fisherman to then Riverkeeper John Cronin and Riverkeeper Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help them become organized. Cronin and Kennedy helped guide the formation of the Connecticut Coastal Fishermen's Association and obtained legal representation for the group from the New York City law firm of Berel, Kass and Case. Shortly thereafter, Terry Backer, was elected president of the group and led the fishermen's group in filing several sixty day notice letters of intention to sue several municipalities for violation of the federal Clean Water Act. These cities included; Stratford, Connecticut, Norwalk, Bridgeport and Milford Connecticut.

The Long Island Soundkeeper Fund Inc. was created through a stipulated settlement reached between the Connecticut Coastal Fishermen's Association and the City of Norwalk, Connecticut in 1987 to settle a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit. The suit allege thousand of violations of the city's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit from their sewage treatment plant. The settlement with Norwalk, CT was divided between several local environmental improvement projects and a payment of $86,500.00 to start a full time watchdog for Long Island Sound. Using the settlement the Connecticut Coastal Fishermen's Association founded Soundkeeper, a full time professional organization dedicated to the protection of Long Island Sound.