Terry Backer
[9][10] During his tenure as Chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee (2002–2003), Backer, oversaw and wrote the cleanup legislation to the State of Connecticut's 1998 Electric Deregulation and Restructuring law.
[13] In July 2007, Backer and State Rep. Bob Duff co-founded the Connecticut General Assembly's Peak Oil and Natural Gas Caucus.
The Energy Scarcity and Security Task Force was formed to make recommendation regarding the findings of a report that will investigate the impact of rising energy cost and both major and short term supply disruptions on the state's ability to provide services and the impact on the state's economy and cost to citizens.
[16] In September 2008, Backer received the Congressman Roscoe Bartlett Speaking Truth to Power award from the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO-USA).
[19] Backer died during his 12th term as State Representative on December 14, 2015, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, from complications related to the treatment of brain cancer.
[20][21] In 1984, after witnessing degrading water quality in Long Island Sound, Backer, along with Chris Staplefelt, another local fisherman, co-founded the Connecticut Coastal Fishermen's Association.
After hearing complaints of continued pollution problems in Long Island Sound, Gabrielson, introduced Backer and Staplefelt to John Cronin, then the Hudson Riverkeeper, who with the help of the New York City based law firm of Berle, Kass and Case, now dissolved, established the Connecticut Coastal Fishermen's Association.
The Fishermen's Association, under Backer, brought federal Clean Water Act lawsuits against several Connecticut municipalities for violations of their National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems Permits.
[citation needed] In 1987 Backer founded, along with John Cronin, the Hudson Riverkeeper and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chief Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper the Long Island Soundkeeper Fund Inc. That same year, Backer became the first Soundkeeper for Long Island Sound[23] and executive director of the not for profit environmental protection organization based in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Long Island Soundkeeper was started by using a portion of stipulated penalties of $87,000.00 from a settlement based on a Clean Water Act lawsuit with the City of Norwalk, Connecticut.
[25][1] With Backer as Executive Director/Soundkeeper, Soundkeeper Inc. has brought many Clean Water Act lawsuits against polluters of Long Island Sound including New York City,[26] as well as, a federal lawsuit challenging the United States Environmental Protection Agency's rule making regarding cooling water intakes from power plants.
[28] and has pioneered the use of catch basin filters to clean polluted storm water of bacteria, metals, and hydrocarbons before it enters Long Island Sound, as well as numerous other projects.
