Take Action Today to Protect Vermont's Drinking Water!

April 2008

As water resources across the nation and the world become increasingly scarce and sought after, Vermont remains in the precarious position of being one of the last states in the nation to protect our underground drinking water.

Thankfully, the Vermont Legislature is considering a bill — S.304 — which would create a program that allows diverse use of this precious resource but helps protect against future depletion. The Senate passed S.304 handily. The bill is now in the House, where it will need strong support to ensure it remains strong and passes. Please contact your House member today and let them know you support S.304 with the public trust provision intact. Find out how - and what else you can do - below.

S.304 is so important because Vermont:
•    Has a troubling gap in our state water laws, which do fairly well at protecting water quality but do little to safeguard water quantity. (Read all about this here.)
•    Lags far behind our neighboring states and the nation in efforts to safeguard our groundwater — the primary source of drinking water for two-thirds of Vermonters.
•    Has no comprehensive groundwater protection program in place that would allow diverse use of the resource but help mitigate against overconsumption, depletion and contamination.
•    Has failed to put public and community interest in groundwater above corporate, private interests.
 

The House will move on this issue in the coming weeks. Please ask your House Member to support S.304 as passed by the Senate today.This bill will help ensure Vermont establishes a meaningful, reasonable, comprehensive groundwater protection program by:
 

• Creating a statewide program for managing groundwater withdrawals to ensure Vermont does not deplete its drinking water. This includes a reporting requirement for withdrawals over 20,000 gallons per day. This information will be used to gather critical data about who is using how much groundwater and for what purpose. It will also help to facilitate the state’s ability to map the groundwater aquifers, which remains a lingering issue for Vermont to address.

• Holding Vermont’s groundwater in the public trust. This provision essentially says that Vermont’s water is owned by no one person, but by everyone and will help ensure that any commercial use is carefully considered with the public’s interest as a first priority. Vermont’s surface waters have been held in the public trust for nearly 100 years, and many states, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, have already taken this important step to help protect their groundwater. Find out more about why this provision is so important here.

• Guaranteeing public involvement in decisions about the future of this vital resource.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

•    Contact your House Representative directly. Let him or her know you want them to support S.304. Leave a message for them with the Sergeant-of-Arms at 802-828-2228 or send them an email. Find your House member here.

•    Better yet! Send an even stronger statement. Write a handwritten note and send it to your Rep at:
     Honorable Rep. __________
     Vermont Statehouse
     115 State Street
     Montpelier, VT  05633

•    Write a letter to the editor and submit it to your local paper and a statewide media outlet. Find out more about writing effective letters to the editor and where to send your letter here.

•    Let your friends and family in Vermont know about this bill and ask them to write a letter or contact their lawmakers. Send them to VNRC for more information on the bill and how they can engage — www.vnrc.org or have them call 802-223-2328.


For more information or to get involved in this important issue contact:
Johanna Miller, Vermont Natural Resources Council
Email: jmiller@vnrc.org   *   Phone: 802-223-2328 ext 112   *   Web: www.vnrc.org