At first glance the voters seem to have sent a mixed message. They gave Democrats and Progressives, many of whom emphasized environmental action, an even greater supermajority with which they might override vetoes. On the other hand, these same voters also reelected Republican Phil Scott.
With winter construction season underway, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) wants to remind Vermonters about additional requirements to help protect the state’s waterways.
Dozens of the recommendations of the Vermont Climate Council, ardently backed by the Climate Action Network, will whistle through House and Senate. An early one will be the clean heat standard, to drive up the price of natural gas, heating oil, propane and kerosene. It failed by one vote last May. The Democrats can’t wait to push that through.
The Biden administration is also mulling a plan that would force oil companies to store a minimum amount of diesel in their fuel tanks, which could raise fuel prices further in areas like New England, according to Bloomberg.
The price of heating oil, a fuel most commonly used in New England to heat homes, has gone up by 65% since October 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The Department of Environmental Conservation recently issued seven ‘Water Quality Restoration Formula Grants’ to provide funding for clean water projects to address phosphorous and other water quality impairments in the Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog watershed basins.
In a year when inflation and other economic pressures are already challenging Vermonters, the cost of electricity is set to go up about 8%, according to one major electric utility.
If we ignore all the hard truths about lithium batteries — like inadequate resources, child labor, carbon footprint, manufacturing and disposal problems — a world with more of these in them has created a challenge for firefighters. There’s no easy way to put them out.
In July, ISO announced that the reserve margin on the New England system may need to increase from about 15% to 300% by 2040 in some scenarios, as more renewables are added and dispatchable generation is retired to meet state clean energy goals.
“The number one priority is ensuring that, as we ask Vermonters to electrify everything, that all of our energy needs are met with 100% renewable energy from solar, wind and small-scale hydro sources, period,” said Peter Sterling, executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont.
Hinesburg landowners have clashed with town planners over proposed zoning changes that, to prioritize forest conservation, would more strictly govern land use across a large stretch of town. “That’s not what my vision is for my property,” resident Tony St. Hilaire told the Hinesburg Planning Commission.
Vermont’s Clean Water Board is asking the public to weigh in on how they would like to prioritize approximately $50.6 million, available through the State Fiscal Year 2024 Clean Water Budget, to clean up water pollution in Vermont’s lakes, streams, and wetlands.