Thumbs up, Thumbs Down: A Look at 2010 Under the Golden Dome

Lawmakers wrapped up the 2010 legislative session about midnight on Wednesday, May 12, and it was, without a doubt, one of the wildest and toughest sessions in recent memory.

Given the session was dominated by budget shortfalls (and imperfect attempts like Challenges for Change to address it) the end results for Vermont’s natural resources weren’t all bad.

VNRC was very busy on multiple bills all year, both promoting good conservation initiatives and trying minimize bad legislation.

Here is VNRC’s take:


Thumbs Up

Vermont Yankee - In late February, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to block the relicensing of the increasingly rickety Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. VNRC, as part of a broad coalition of conservation and renewable energy groups, helped assure the strong vote by working with our members to make their voices heard in the legislature. For a variety of reasons VNRC supports the shutdown of the plant. Among them is the leaking of radioactive tritium into the groundwater that was discovered after Yankee officials stated that there were no pipes carrying such materials.

Clearly, Vermonters want to move toward safe, green power. Shutting down Vermont Yankee as scheduled is a crucial step in that direction and VNRC will continue to put pressure on the state, through the Public Service Board and the legislature, to close the reactor.

Renewable Energy (H. 781) VNRC supported much of this bill. It fosters the expansion renewable energy projects, like farm methane, and solar power, improves the permit appeals process for renewable energy projects, and begins to set the groundwork for the development of a renewable portfolio standard, or RPS, in Vermont which, if done right, would give a boost to renewable energy. While VNRC supported these provisions, we strongly opposed a flawed and potentially damaging element related to large hydropower. (See “Thumbs Down” section below).

River Corridor Protection (H.763) Lawmakers approved a bill that requires the state to help cities and towns adopt local river corridor protection regulations in order to keep our rivers and streams clean, stable and insulated from flood damage. Among the most effective methods for protecting rivers and other waterways is the establishment and maintenance of vegetated buffers along shorelines, something that VNRC has supported for many years. VNRC sees the bill as a very good step toward helping reduce pollution running into our streams, and by extension big waters like Lake Champlain.

Growth Centers (S.64) improves the state designation process for locally planned “growth centers.” In 2006, lawmakers passed the Growth Center law. That measure helps steer development toward land in and around our existing downtowns to protect their vibrancy and livability, and reduce pressure to develop our farm and forestland. The most recent legislation makes the requirements for growth center designation clearer and more closely aligned with smart growth principles.

Challenges for Change (H.792) The Challenges for Change process set up a framework between the Douglas Administration and the Legislature, with the broad goal of achieving savings by focusing on performance and outcomes in state government. It was also charged with finding $38 million in savings in the state budget. VNRC worked hard on two elements of this sweeping process: environmental permitting, and reform of the structure of the state’s regional planning commissions. On permitting, VNRC was able to dissuade lawmakers from implementing Administration ideas for relaxing environmental permitting that would not have saved any money and could have weakened environmental protection. On the question of regional planning commissions, VNRC worked alongside several other organizations to successfully convince lawmakers to reject the Administration’s proposal to collapse Vermont’s 11 regional planning commissions into nine ‘regional development centers. Instead, lawmakers reduced funding for RPCs, and added new performance contracts that will tie payments to performance. While not ideal, the final outcome is acceptable to VNRC and it has underscored that we need to continue to be sure lawmakers understand the important role that RPCs play in Vermont.

Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) – Lawmakers remained steadfast in their support of this key housing and conservation program. They allocated $6.2 million in the budget (much less than the statutory formula, but nonetheless important) and augmented that through an additional $5 million in the capital bill for a total $11.2 million investment in Vermont’s working landscape and housing stock for working Vermonters.  The last time the state was in a recession, in the mid-1990s, the legislature recognized that funding VHCB through the capital bill had the added benefit of stimulating the state’s economy.

Mixed Bag

Current Use (H.485) Current Use, the program that allows farm and forest land to be taxed at its lower use value, rather than its potential development value, is Vermont’s most effective and widely supported land conservation policies. In a disappointing development, Governor Douglas vetoed positive, bipartisan legislation that would have put the Current Use program on a firm financial footing into the future. The good news is that the legislature has done thorough work on this issue, which could help move legislation next year. Here’s the history. Last year, the legislature mandated $1.6 million in savings from the current use program to help shore up this year’s budget shortfall. A broad range of groups that support the current use program, including municipalities, listers, farm groups, forestry interests, and conservation organizations, took the mandate seriously, and worked hard through last summer and the legislative session to develop ideas that would strengthen the program, while finding necessary savings. H.485 resulted in several compromises. The bill included a one-time fee to landowners in the program to help close this year’s statewide budget gap, improved efficiencies in the electronic administration of the program, and increased the development penalty for withdrawal of land from the program. This increase was designed to discourage landowners from temporary “parking” land when they intend to develop it anyway, and keep the program on stable financial ground. While the veto represents a missed opportunity to assure the financial health of the program going into the future, VNRC will continue to work with legislators and stakeholders to improve this critical program.


Thumbs Down

Hydro-Quebec as Renewable. In the renewable energy bill was tucked a big policy change for Vermont. The provision redefines large hydro-power, including power coming from the massive provincial utility Hydro-Quebec, as being “renewable.” The effect of this will be to give Hydro Quebec –which is planning to continue to dam huge, free running rivers in Quebec – access to big incentives in the power markets in the future. VNRC testified in both the House and Senate and weighed in repeatedly in the press opposing this shift, noting that Vermont would still buy hydropower from Hydro-Quebec whether or not we gave large hydro this definition. Defining large hydro as renewable endorses further, ecologically-damaging damming of rivers in Quebec, has the potential to hamper the development of our own renewable energy industry, and was rushed through without thorough review. Vermont is the first state in New England to consider mega hydro “renewable.” In the coming months, VNRC expects to work to minimize the impacts of what we fear is a short-sighted idea.

Works in Progress

Smart Growth (S.99) Left in suspended animation last year, VNRC will be working hard to advance this good pro-downtown, pro-countryside bill next year. The bill sets out specific requirements for Act 250 permits that are designed to promote our historic, compact downtowns, encourage new development to have links to public transportation, and assure that new commercial strip development will not overly burden taxpayers.

Permit Restructuring (S.214, H.546) At VNRC’s urging lawmakers introduced two permit restructuring bills this year that we hope will see action next year. VNRC has seen changes to the state’s development regulations over the years, most notably Act 250, undermined in its effectiveness, leaving both developers and environmentalists frustrated. The legislation – developed based on suggestions from VNRC – is aimed at fixing the broken appeals process, better integrating various permitting processes into a single system, and directly addressing rural sprawl, but they did not receive the attention warranted. This should be the first order of business when the Legislature convenes – and a new Governor takes office – next January.

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