Groundwater Protection: An Important Goal Now Within Reach

December 18, 2007

After nearly three years of work to protect the state’s groundwater — the primary source of Vermonters’ drinking water — VNRC is pleased to announce that Vermont is on the brink of addressing the problem with the urgency it deserves.

Last Friday, the governor-appointed Groundwater Committee completed its work by agreeing that Vermont’s underground drinking water supplies lack adequate protection. They also recognized that action is needed to remedy the situation. The committee is now working on finalizing the language in a report it will deliver to the Legislature in early 2008. The report will pave the way for a comprehensive groundwater reform bill that legislators will take up come January.

The results of the committee are promising. But ensuring Vermont enacts strong protections for our irreplaceable fresh water resources will take significant public support. Your help at this crucial time is essential. Vermonters who share the goal of safeguarding our drinking water will be vital to ensure the Legislature passes — and the governor signs — a strong bill.

In 2005, VNRC identified a gap in Vermont laws that safeguard the state’s fresh water resources. We found that while Vermont’s laws protect water quality, the statutes currently fail to adequately address water quantity. Read our comprehensive analysis of the situation here.

The gap in Vermont's water laws are troubling and potentially problematic, especially in the face of increased scarcity and conflicts over water across the world. That's why VNRC has worked tirelessly to push for a program that protects groundwater for the people, communities, and agricultural interests who rely on it.

The Legislature appointed a committee in 2006 and charged it with two tasks 1) recommend a comprehensive groundwater protection plan for managing large-scale water withdrawals and 2) vote on whether groundwater should be declared a public trust resource.

Last Friday, the committee affirmed VNRC’s charge that Vermont must act now to permanently close the gap in the state’s water laws. The committee failed, however, to put public interest in Vermont’s water supplies over private interest by voting 8 to 4 not to recommend that groundwater be declared a public trust resources.

Despite the committee’s lack of support for public trust designation, there was strong, bipartisan legislative support for it. Three of the four legislators on the committee voted to declare groundwater a public trust resource – a safeguard Vermont has long afforded its surface waters. Representative David Deen (D), Chair of the House, Fish, Wildlife and Water Committee and Senator Dianne Snelling (R), a prominent member of the Senate Natural Resources Committee argued for the designation. Unfortunately the bipartisan support wasn’t sufficient. Three of the “no” votes came from members of the Douglas administration.

Several members of the committee who voted against public trust designation indicated that their vote was contingent on Vermont finally mapping its groundwater resources and addressing the impacts of large groundwater withdrawals, including water bottling operations.

The final report will recognize that Vermont has fallen far behind the rest of the country in mapping underground water resources and recommend that Vermont build on last year’s first-time appropriation to map the state’s aquifers.

The final report will recognize that Vermont does not adequately address withdrawals of groundwater and set the stage for the Legislature to consider statutory changes to close the gap in Vermont’s water laws. Importantly, the report will also note that notwithstanding the committee’s vote on the public trust, the Legislature can, and should, take up the public trust issue in 2008.

Following closely on the heels of the committee’s last meeting, that same day Senator Snelling formally introduced legislation that would declare groundwater a public trust resource and create a comprehensive groundwater use management program in Vermont.

Sen. Snelling’s bill would 1) regulate large groundwater and spring water withdrawals, 2) require that any large groundwater withdrawal and spring water be in the public good, 3) prioritize public drinking water supplies and farming over other uses of groundwater and spring water and 4) vest the public with significant rights to participate in any proposal to withdraw public water. The comprehensive bill would move Vermont from its precarious position of being the last state in New England, and among just a handful of states nationally, to address large water withdrawals. Based on VNRC’s exhaustive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of other state programs, Vermont’s bill would, in fact, make the state a leader in protecting this precious, finite resource.

Help ensure Vermont seizes on this pivotal moment. Let your friends, neighbors, local officials and legislators know that the Green Mountain State needs a strong, forward-looking program that will safeguard Vermont’s drinking water supplies for current and future generations.

Contact VNRC’s Water Program Director Jon Groveman or VNRC’s Outreach Director Johanna Miller for more information or to get involved. Call 802-223-2328 or email jgroveman@vnrc.org or jmiller@vnrc.org.