A decision on whether Candlewood Lake Authority can use sterile grass carp to reduce the Eurasian Watermilfoil taking over the lake will be made in the coming days.
The authority submitted the permit application to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in March, a few months after the authority received a matching $50,000 grant to stock the lake with nearly 4,000 grass carp. The plan is to have the carp eat the invasive milfoil, which makes up about 75 percent of the lake’s plant life.
The public comment period on the permit closed Wednesday and now DEEP staff will have to go through the comments before making a decision.
Peter Aarrestad, the director of DEEP’s inland fisheries division, said there was no set deadline for the permit approval but expects a decision will be made in a few days.
“We’re doing all we can,” he said.