Groundwater, Stormwater and Energy Among 2007 Legislative Triumphs

VNRC’s determined and unwavering efforts to shape legislation under the Golden Dome in Montpelier paid off again this year. While there is still much more work to be done, it’s clear that Vermont’s environment and communities will benefit from several environmental measures lawmakers approved this year.

Here are the highlights:

Groundwater. Lawmakers this year gave a crucial jumpstart to a long-ignored law (that’s been on the books for 20 years) when they appropriated money to map Vermont’s groundwater. Legislators appropriated over $300,000 to get the mapping program started, and VNRC hopes this funding will leverage federal dollars for mapping as well. While the Legislature in 1985 told the Agency of Natural Resources to map the states groundwater, this is the first time money has been earmarked specifically for the purpose. Vermont is behind other New England states on groundwater protection and mapping is an essential first step. VNRC and our partner Vermonters for a Clean Environment (VCE) worked closely together to advance this initiative.

VNRC and VCE also helped pass, in the House, a requirement that most large users of groundwater report how much water they are using. Next year, VNRC will work to strengthen this measure in the Senate and pass comprehensive groundwater protection legislation.

“The legislature, in essence, has said, “Protecting Vermont’s drinking water is a real priority,’” said Jon Groveman, VNRC’s water program director. “This is a priority issue for VNRC, and this legislation is great news for Vermonters.”

As demand for groundwater continues to grow the time is now - not later, when it’s too late and water is scarce or compromised - to find out where this life-sustaining resource lies and how much we have. VNRC, which has a seat on the Groundwater Task Force created by the legislature in 2006, will be working extensively over the summer to ensure the task force makes good recommendations when it submits its report next January.

For more information on VNRC’s groundwater initiatives, click here.

Current Use. VNRC took the lead in supporting a bill to set up an independent study of the current use program. Current use, widely seen across Vermont as a successful and necessary land protection program, helps conserve working farm and forestland by taxing it at its use value, not its development value. This new study will examine ways to improve the effectiveness of current use, and will determine whether it is meeting its original goals, which include conserving productive land, achieving equitable taxation for undeveloped land, and protecting natural ecosystems. A task force will make recommendations and come back to the legislature with suggested changes to the program next year.

Endorsing the idea of a study was a diverse group of participants in the VNRC-convened Forest Roundtable. The Roundtable recently published a report on reducing the fragmentation and parcelization of forestland in Vermont. To read the report, click here.

For more information about forest issues, click here.

Stormwater. The legislature also passed a bill that will keep the state on track to clean up polluted rivers and streams as well as Vermont’s crown jewel, Lake Champlain. VNRC supported the bill, which:

- Requires ANR to re-examine and amend the Lake Champlain Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL, for phosphorous. That TMDL has been in place since 2002 and the targets in it are inaccurate and the plan to implement the TMDL is inadequate.

- Requires a public hearing be held to examine whether stormwater TMDL pollution reduction targets for stormwater-polluted streams, mostly in Chittenden County, are also accurate.

A TMDL is a pollution budget or cap for a specific pollutant, such as phosphorous. It’s the amount of the pollutant a given water body can absorb before it becomes “polluted” under the Clean Water Act. It is crucial that the TMDL be accurate. If the pollution budget in a TMDL is incorrect, the water body will never be restored to a healthy state. The new legislation provides accountability for the pollution budgets in the Lake Champlain and stormwater TMDLs developed by ANR.

For more information on water issues, click here.

Energy. The Legislature passed a sweeping and generally positive climate change and energy bill. While unfortunately Gov. Douglas has said he will veto the measure, lawmakers are considering a vote to override the veto this summer. The bill would make it more affordable for Vermonters to heat their homes through a program to help them install insulation, replace windows, and install efficient furnaces. At the same time, because people would be using less heating fuel like oil and propane, Vermont would swiftly begin to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming. The bill does all this through a fair tax increase – that will not be passed on to ratepayers -- on the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon. This heating fuels efficiency program would be the first of its kind in the country and could serve as a model as the nation confronts the realities of climate change. Efforts are underway to muster the votes in the legislature to override this deeply disappointing veto.

“The Governor’s expected veto of this bill is disappointing,” said Elizabeth Courtney, VNRC’s Executive Director. “Any serious effort in Vermont to curb greenhouse gases must focus sharply on efficiency and conservation. This bill would do just that.”

As always, VNRC also worked on a variety of other, broader bills in Montpelier that will impact Vermont’s natural resources and communities.

Septic. A bill relating to septic systems was contentious but in the end, VNRC and others prevailed in putting the brakes on the bad elements that could have led to uncontrolled construction on steep slopes, failed septic systems, threats to public health and waters of the state, and sprawl. The final bill that passed requires the Agency of Commerce and Community Development to report back to the legislature next January on: status of municipal efforts to address development on steep slopes and ridgelines; compliance with state ground water mapping; land use impacts from alternative septic systems; status of state efforts to help towns with plans and bylaws; status of state efforts to develop and distribute model groundwater protection ordinances to municipalities; and a recommendation on whether or not to keep the 20% maximum slope requirement based on an evaluation of its impacts on land use zoning and development.

New Neighborhoods. An ill-conceived housing bill innocuously dubbed “New Neighborhoods” would have eroded Act 250, undermined the growth center law of 2006, and not had the effect of creating affordable housing. VNRC and several partners opposed the bill, and it did not move out of the House. At least two efforts are now underway to find common ground that will provide more affordable housing while protecting Vermont’s environment. The goal is to try to develop a consensus proposal for consideration by the legislature in 2008.

Broadband. VNRC supported the big telecommunications bill designed to bring fast Internet service to all corners of the state, but worked to keep good permitting language in the bill. Measures that preserve a role for municipal and regional planning ended up in the legislation.

Growth Center Technical Changes. VNRC worked on a bill that made small adjustments to the growth center law and will facilitate implementation of growth centers and new town centers by municipalities while protecting valuable farmland.


For more information or detail on any of these bills, please don't hesitate to contact us. Reach VNRC’s Legislative Liaison Jake Brown at 802-223-2328 ext. 111 or jbrown@vnrc.org.

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