Vermont's Water Quality Standards

The Vermont Water Quality Standards (VWQS) serve as the foundation in protecting Vermont’s vital and precious water resources.  The VWQS are regulations that classify each waterbody, establish uses (e.g. swimming and fishing) that must be protected, and set minimum chemical, physical and biological criteria that must be met in all of Vermont’s waters.

The importance of the VWQS cannot be understated.  Every permit that authorizes a discharge of pollution to the waters of the state must meet the VWQS.  Every authorization to operate a dam on a Vermont river must meet the VWQS.  In short, the VWQS ensure that polluters cannot use our public resources unless all uses of the waters are maintained and the quality of our waters is not degraded.  

The VWQS are not a static set of regulations.  Federal law requires that the VWQS to be subject to public review at least every three years.  Moreover, state law requires that the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) revise Vermont’s 17 Basin Plans, which recommend classifications and uses for Vermont’s waters, by 2006.  The Basin Plans must ultimately be implemented through the VWQS.

Importantly, the VWQS contain “antidegradation” provisions that are required by federal law.  These provisions protect Vermont’s waters that meet the VWQS against backsliding, and are designed to ensure that the goals of Clean Water Act are met: that the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nations waters is restored and maintained.

VNRC consistently advocates for interpretations of and amendments to the VWQS that will protect Vermont’s waters.  You can keep up to date on VNRC’s efforts regarding the VWQS by checking the program initiatives on this web page.