DEEP’s Katie Dykes: Collaboration Drives Reform Measures

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection commissioner Katie Dykes says partnerships and collaborations are at the core of the agency’s regulatory reforms.

Speaking with Day Pitney’s Kirsten Etela at CBIA’s June 11 Energy & Environment Conference, Dykes shared the agency’s recent initiatives with about 180 attendees.

Those initiatives include the long-anticipated sunsetting of the Transfer Act, the adoption of environmental permitting reforms, and the agency’s 20BY26 program.

The state legislature’s Regulation Review Committee unanimously approved new release-based cleanup regulations in April, which will take effect in March, 2026 and retire the outdated Transfer Act.

The new regulations were developed over four years by a working group—consisting of private and public sector stakeholders—that was led by Dykes.

Those reforms are expected to drive billions of dollars in new economic activity for Connecticut.  

Turning the Corner  

Dykes said when she took the position as commissioner, she quickly learned about the challenges with the Transfer Act and other regulations.  

“Some of the most bitter complaints about the Transfer Act were coming from my staff who were implementing it and saw how that framework was really falling short of achieving our mission of helping speed the cleanup of contaminated sites,” she said. 

Dykes noted that the 60 members of the working group invested a significant amount of time to develop the release-based cleanup regulations.  

“This is like putting a huge ‘open for business’ sign over all of those dilapidated brownfields that are sitting in prime locations next to transportation infrastructure, close to communities that are really excited to see jobs come back,” Dykes said.  

“This is like putting a huge ‘open for business’ sign over all of those dilapidated brownfields.”

DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes

CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima called Dykes’ willingness to work with the business community to implement regulatory changes “instrumental.”

“When we presented the findings to the commissioner, she welcomed us with open arms,” he told conference attendees.  

“She said, ‘Let me talk to you about 20BY26 initiatives and help me prioritize the ones that are going to be most important to the business community and then let’s work together to get them done.’” 

Since the collaboration began, the business community has had monthly meetings and conversations with Dykes and her team.  

“This is a natural partnership, and it’s absolutely critical to our agency in this particular moment in time,” Dykes said.  

Permitting Reforms 

Creating and implementing a new framework for site cleanup is just one of Dyke’s goals.  

DEEP’s 20BY26 initiative set 20 goals to improve the predictability, efficiency, and timeliness of permitting processes across the agency.  

While some are federally regulated and others are part of state statute, DEEP implements 125 different permits in Connecticut.  

Dykes said DEEP is working to set expected time frames for each permit and have seen success consolidating some permits by recalibrating the level of effort and intensity of oversight needed.  

Additional legislation passed this session allows the agency to continue to move the needle.

“What we found in some cases with a process where we’re not meeting the time frame was that we’ve been able to look under the hood and say, ‘you know what this activity is has a fairly minor impact, but the process that’s that we’re requiring in terms of the permit is just way too elaborate for the degree of environmental harm that the permit is intended to address,’” Dykes said.  

The agency has taken some lengthy individual permits and moved them to general permits and in some cases, removed the permit requirement completely.  

Streamlining Processes  

Dykes one of the easiest initiatives to complete—”surprisingly”—was establishing a client concierge, a one-stop-shop for businesses and municipalities to help navigate processes.  

Admittedly, she said she even uses the concierge when someone reaches out directly to determine where a project is in the approval process. 

The team tracks the different processes and helps serve as a liaison not only for large businesses, but smaller ones as well.  

ICYMI: CBIA’s 2025 Energy & Environment Conference was packed with important conversations on #energy and #environment policy, regulatory reform, electric grid modernization, and more with business, industry, and state leaders. pic.twitter.com/MfWvx4vVs3

— CBIA (@CBIANews) June 17, 2025

“They’re doing incredible quarterbacking within the agency to make sure that things are moving on time,” Dykes said 

Other successes Dykes feels have benefitted the business community are with DEEP’s Climate Resilience Fund and Sustainable Materials Management Grant Program. 

Recently, the legislature passed SB 9, which Dykes said complements climate-resilience related initiatives by allowing DEEP to provide more consultation with municipalities on development in flood-prone areas.  

Funding Risk  

Dykes told business leaders that there has been a great deal of excitement in recent years with streamlining permitting processes, but these programs are at risk with federal funding cuts. 

Roughly 20% of DEEP’s operations are federally funded and about 40% of permit programs are dependent on federal funding.  

Dykes said the funding cuts have the potential to be “catastrophic,” and impact the time frames DEEP has been predicting for permits.  

Still, she said while there is a lot of talk about what will happen, she can’t speculate yet.

Dykes said federal funding cuts have the potential to be “catastrophic.”

“We need to make sure that we’re not overreacting,” she said.  

“We need to have actionable information to know what’s going to impact us.” 

Dykes said the agency is actively working to get more information and have been talking through what next steps could look like for the department.  

She said they’ve had conversations about application fees to supplement some of the federal funding as one avenue, but will look to the legislature and the business community for support finding solutions.