[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 85 (Thursday, May 16, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E516-E517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE AND CAREER OF ZELL STEEVER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 16, 2024

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of a great environmental champion from southeastern Connecticut whom we 
lost recently, Mr. E. Zell Steever, V. A fierce advocate for climate 
resilience and sustainability policy, Zell spent his career in ecology 
and biology, serving as Director of Water and Related Resources at the 
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, along with other 
roles in water resources protection and management at agencies such as 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of 
Interior, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers. His decade-spanning support for environmental conservation 
and dedication to robust civic participation has been instrumental in 
the great strides our State has taken to realize a sustainable, 
climate-resilient future.
  Zell began life with his family in Noank, Connecticut, where he 
settled after graduating from the University of Connecticut. He 
attended graduate school at Connecticut College, studying the local 
coastal salt march ecosystem and building a repository of evidence of 
the importance of healthy wetlands to fisheries, one of southeastern 
Connecticut's mainstay professions. In his free time, Zell was 
frequently seen sailing up and down the Long Island Sound, designing 
and renovating homes, and building Aleutian kayaks.
  Zell's impact has reached far beyond the limits of Eastern 
Connecticut, as he held multiple national level positions. He advised 
President Nixon as a staff member of the President's Council on 
Environmental Equality. In

[[Page E517]]

1993 he was selected for the 1992 delegation to the UN Earth Summit 
where he led negotiations on five chapters of Agenda 21 on behalf of 
the United States. He continued his high-stakes environmental work and 
advocacy until his retirement in 2004. Luckily for Eastern Connecticut, 
Zell's retirement was only in name. He continued his tireless work in 
Groton town committees including the Town Council's Climate Change and 
Sustainable Community Task Force, the Energy Efficiency and 
Conservation Committee, and the Utility Drinking Water Quality 
Management Plan.
  Zell was tirelessly active in municipal efforts to prepare for 
climate change, serving the community with groups such as the Groton 
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Commission and the advisory board 
for the Groton Utility Drinking Water Quality Management. One of Zell's 
most ambitious local efforts focused on the expansion of the area's 
commuter rail service, Shoreline East. His vision included extending 
the existing rail line from New London to Westerly, Rhode Island, 
making a route from New London to Norwich, and creating new stations in 
Groton and Stonington. He worked tirelessly to bring together 
stakeholders from across the region, creating a coalition of advocates 
with environmentalism and equity at the heart of its mission. Zell was 
at the forefront of this burgeoning expansion effort, leveraging his 
decades of experience in government and conservation to successfully 
push for legislation that called for an Eastern Connecticut Rail and 
Transit Feasibility Study, which was finalized and published in later 
2023. This study will be instrumental in the further development of 
widely available and accessible rail in southeastern Connecticut, for 
which we have Zell to thank.
  I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me 
in honoring Zell Steever's service and spirit. His loss is felt deeply 
across the state and Nation. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, two 
sons, John and Scott, two stepsons, Jonathan and Gabriel, six 
grandchildren, and his brother Sanford. His resolute mission to protect 
the planet we call home and his devoted service to his communities will 
serve as a lasting legacy in the hearts and minds of Connecticut's 
future environmentalists and conservationists as they continue the work 
he dedicated his life to.

                          ____________________