Fairfield Man Abandons Mooring 3,000 Feet off Beach

A Fairfield man has abandoned a plan to moor his 50-foot boat 3,000 feet from shore after town officials suggested the mooring be installed where a pipe from Fairfield's wastewater treatment plant discharges effluent into Long Island Sound.

Philip DiGennaro, who owns a home on Fairfield Beach Road, initially wanted to install a mooring, or permanent anchorage, for his boat about 2,000 feet into Long Island Sound from Fairfield Beach Road. But that spot was over shellfish beds, and the town's Shellfish Commission didn't like the idea, saying waste from the boat's bathroom could contaminate the beds and the permanent anchorage could interfere with shellfish dredging and management of the beds.

Town officials then suggested an alternate location 3,000 feet from shore in the wastewater treatment plant's outfall area. That area is prohibited for shellfishing and about 10 feet deep at low tide.

DiGennaro considered the proposed spot, but John Hilts, DiGennaro's representative, sent the Shellfish Commission a letter last week saying DiGennaro declined the suggested location because he was "concerned about potential problems associated with the discharge from the outfall."

Hilts' letter to the commission continued: "As noted previously, it is not now, nor has it ever been, Mr. DiGennaro's intention to moor his boat in local waters for any extended period of time."

"Rather, he sought to install the mooring to provide short-term tie-up without the need to employ anchors. He did so to prevent damage to the natural beds in the area," Hilts' letter says. "Unfortunately, he is now left with no choice but to utilize his boat's anchors if and when he moors the vessel offshore from his property on Fairfield Beach Road."

Town Conservation Director Thomas Steinke said tonight that effluent from the wastewater treatment plant is clean due to the $42 million overhaul of the wastewater treatment plant about a decade ago. He said his impression was that DiGennaro planned to withdraw his application for a non-harbor mooring from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Town officials said several weeks ago that they weren't aware of any non-harbor moorings off Fairfield's shore that had boats attached to them, but added that requests for such moorings could become more frequent due to the long waiting list for a slip at South Benson Marina. Non-harbor moorings require a permit from the DEP.

Members of the town's Harbor Management Commission, when they heard about DiGennaro's request last month, expressed bewilderment at the idea, saying DiGennaro's boat could be a navigational hazard to other boaters, particularly at night if it wasn't lighted, and could become unhinged in a storm and be blown around Long Island Sound.

The non-harbor mooring would have consisted of a permanent anchor, attached to the bottom of Long Island Sound, and DiGennaro would have detached his boat above water, unlike a regular anchor which is dragged up from the bottom every time a boater wants to go somewhere.

Hilts ended his letter to the Shellfish Commission by saying that members of the Shellfish Commission "should consider the greater potential for adverse impacts associated with not approving Mr. DiGennaro's original proposal and act accordingly."