Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments
About Us
The RiverCOG region is comprised of the seventeen member municipalities of Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Lyme, Middlefield, Middletown, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland and Westbrook. The Chief Elected/Executive Officials of each municipality sit on the RiverCOG board, which along with our two regional transit districts and chamber of commerce, serves as the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) policy board.
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The region encompasses 443 square miles and is home to 174,225 people (according to 2020 census information).
Contact Info
Our office is located in the Village of Centerbrook in the historic Elisha Mather House (1787).
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Mailing Address: 145 Dennison Road, Essex, CT 06426
Main Office Phone: (860) 581-8554
General Inquiry Email: info@rivercog.org
Financial Inquiry Email: finance@rivercog.org
Referrals Submissions Email: referrals@rivercog.org
History
RiverCOG is the result of the merger of the Connecticut River Estuary (CRERPA) and Midstate regional planning organizations. Prior to 2012 there were fifteen such RPOs in Connecticut, with each agency in existence for at least 50 years. The leaders of CRERPA and Midstate, being aware of an ongoing legislative effort to reduce the number of RPOs in the state, were the first to voluntarily merge. This joint effort arose from the desire to maintain the scenic lower Connecticut River as the core of our region, rather than as a possible boundary for several regions.
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