Environmental Report: Groundwater

VNRC has released the Fall 2005 Vermont Environmental Report, with special emphasis on the threats to Vermont's drinking water supply. Currently, significant gaps exist for mapping and protecting Vermont's critical groundwater supply. It is expected that the Vermont Legislature will take a close look at the issue during the 2006 Legislative Session. And don't forget that VNRC members are the first to receive hard copies of our publications!

VNRC Wins for Water in the Legislature

Protecting Vermont’s drinking water — the fresh, cold water that exists in the aquifers beneath our feet — is one of VNRC’s highest priorities. Today the Legislature delivered a hard won victory for Vermonters by passing legislation designed to safeguard this invaluable resource from depletion and degradation.

The Benefits of Declaring Groundwater a Public Trust

The governor-appointed Groundwater Task Force is hard at work, hearing testimony and looking closely at several key groundwater protection strategies, including the declaration of groundwater as a public trust. Arguably the most controversial issue the task force and state will tackle is whether groundwater should be declared a public trust resource. VNRC believes this protective framework is essential.

VNRC Urges Vermonters to "Take Back the Tap"

Choosing tap water over bottled water is better for consumers’ health, their pocketbooks, and the environment, according to a new report written by the Washington, DC-based Food & Water Watch. Today, VNRC co-released this national report, stressing its findings were important for Vermonters. “As this report makes so clear, bottled water isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” said Jon Groveman, VNRC’s Water Program Director. “The report’s research and analysis reinforce our belief that there are many reasons why people should drink tap water instead of commercial bottled water, not the least of which is a concern for natural resources.”

The World Water Crisis and the State of Vermont

This summer, VNRC member and water warrior Dot Helling ran around the world to raise awareness about water, taking up the baton from China (pictured here) to the Czech Republic and back home to the United States. The water pollution, depletion and resource wars Dot witnessed are real, and they are intensifying. They are also not isolated to places beyond Vermont borders. The Green Mountain State has and will continue to face water problems due to the state’s failure to adequately protect drinking water from pollution, depletion and privatization. Read more here or learn more about Dot’s journey, VNRC’s work on this issue and what Vermont must do to safeguard our drinking water supplies at 7 p.m., Tuesday, October 23 at the Unitarian Church in Montpelier.

The East Montpelier Groundwater Moratorium & the "Public Trust" Issue: A Mini-Documentary

VNRC Hosts Water Activist Maude Barlow

Keynote addresses on July 12 and July 13 by Maude Barlow - one of the world’s leading experts on threats to global water resources - followed closely on the heels of action in the Vermont Legislature to safeguard the fresh water flowing beneath our feet. Read more about this event and VNRC's work to keep the state's drinking water pure and public.

Violating the Public's Trust, and the Public Trust

The recent news that Entergy officials misled Vermont regulators about the existence of underground pipes at the company's aging nuclear reactor in Vernon demonstrates a major breach of trust. Even people within the Douglas administration, which has supported relicensing the plant, say the development is "very disturbing" and have said they will not support the relicensing of the plant until the questions are cleared up.