Groundwater Protection Efforts Continue

January 2007 Update


VNRC’s campaign to address large groundwater withdrawals in Vermont has taken significant steps forward in recent months. This past summer, the Governor appointed a Task Force as required by H.294 of 2006, the groundwater law that VNRC was instrumental in enacting. This governor-appointed body first convened in September 2006 and began getting down to work on their charge: Recommend a groundwater protection program for Vermont.

VNRC is the only statewide environmental group on the Task Force. The other environmental representative seat, at this point, remains vacant. VNRC and other groundwater protection advocates have raised this problem several times and called on the Douglas administration to take immediate action to fix it for fair and broad public representation. Other members of the Task Force include a business group representative, a municipal representative, a citizen representative, and agricultural representative, and four legislators. Representative David Deen and Senator Diane Snelling are co-chairs of the Task Force.

To date, the Task Force has met three times. The October meeting focused on one of the most controversial discussions on the issue: Whether groundwater should be declared a public trust resource. VNRC believes such a declaration is vital. It would establish a framework that recognizes that groundwater is a vital resource that exists to benefit all Vermonters and that no individual can ‘own’ it. In short, it means it is a shared, common asset for all Vermonters to use, but not abuse.

The Task Force recently released its first Preliminary Report of the Legislative Study Committee on Groundwater Regulation and Funding. Read it here.

To learn more about the public trust, at the October meeting the Task Force heard testimony from law professors, the Attorney General’s office, the Agency of Natural Resources and a former lawmaker from New Hampshire who was involved in the drafting of New Hampshire’s groundwater law, which declares groundwater to be a public trust resource. Each of the witnesses agreed that declaring groundwater to be a public trust resource will not result in a taking of property and that currently groundwater in Vermont is not owned by individuals. This finding, along with the fact that groundwater is an invaluable Vermont natural resource, supports VNRC’s belief that any comprehensive groundwater program must be built on the foundation that groundwater is a common resource that benefits all Vermonters. The testimony the Task Force heard supports this position and provides an important basis upon which to push for this essential layer of protection.

In November, the Task Force heard from Vermonters across the state who have experienced problems as a result of groundwater withdrawals. Their compelling personal testimony offered the Task Force a better sense of how the problem is directly affecting families and communities. After the meeting, there was no question by the Task Force members in attendance that there have been problems with groundwater in Vermont. Armed with this vital information, VNRC is optimistic Task Force members will take the action needed to protect groundwater in Vermont. VNRC will work hard from our seat on the committee and with our partners across the state to ensure this action results in the strongest groundwater protection program possible to safeguard the state’s underground drinking water resources.

The next Task Force meeting has not been set. The final report of the Task Force is due in January 2008. In 2007, VNRC will urge the Task Force and the Legislature to fund mapping and enact a reporting requirement for all large groundwater withdrawals.

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