The Vermont Department of Environment Conservation has released a 2022 performance report that highlights water quality progress achieved through public investment. The report details how $337 million of state investment in water quality projects over the last seven years has been put to work.
“ARPA funding has allowed several communities to move forward with projects that they had planned to do,” state environmental engineer Win Wilson said. “And therefore, will also allow them to, in the long run, accomplish more projects, without taking on as much debt.”
What visitors and aspiring anglers might not know is that the waterway flowing through these areas is part of Vermont’s list of impaired and threatened waters — under the federal Clean Water Act.
State officials have been making the rounds this fall to celebrate a landmark achievement: After testing nearly every water tap in Vermont’s schools and child care facilities over the last five years, thousands of lead-tainted taps have been replaced or are no longer in use.
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.
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.
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.
“Investing in water, sewer and stormwater initiatives is key to revitalizing communities and spurring economic growth,” said Governor Phil Scott.
“Stormwater runoff not only erodes our soils but also carries sediment, phosphorus, and other pollutants into our waterways,” said DEC Commissioner John Beling. “Issuing this permit is a key part of the Vermont Clean Water Act of 2015. Vermont needs to reduce stormwater runoff from commercial, industrial, residential, and institutional properties to meet clean water goals.”
Fairlee residents expressed frustration Monday that they’ve been kept in the dark by officials about cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Morey and that leaders have done too little to deal with the situation.
At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Phil Scott and Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore visited the Royalton Water Treatment Facility project to talk about the importance of sewer and stormwater infrastructure.
All six schools in the Champlain Valley School District will soon need to meet new standards for stormwater drainage. CVSD schools are among the 70 Vermont schools and colleges that need to improve their stormwater management infrastructure under the Vermont Clean Water Act of 2015.