Contact: Jon Groveman, Policy and Water Program Director

802-223-2328 x111

jgroveman@vnrc.org

As we head into the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers must keep in mind the importance of clean water to Vermonters’ health, economy, and quality of life. With the dual climate and economic crises rapidly escalating, we cannot afford to slow our efforts to clean up and protect Vermont’s waters. This includes continuing to fund clean water projects, reducing pollution to Lake Champlain and other waterways, and staying on track to implement the flood safety programs adopted by the Vermont Legislature last year. The failure to do so will harm our economy, the natural resources we rely on, and the healthy communities that are vital to Vermonters and visitors alike. 

Phosphorus pollution in Lake Champlain has had devastating effects. Algae blooms pose a danger to human health as well as fish and other aquatic life. The thick, pea soup-like blooms can contain toxic cyanobacteria, which has resulted in countless beach closures in lakeside communities, and rendered the lake unfit for swimming, fishing, and boating.  

Recognizing the impact of this severe water pollution, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to adopt and implement a cleanup plan for Lake Champlain, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) under the federal Clean Water Act in 2002.

Then, in 2008, the Conservation Law Foundation sued the EPA, arguing that the Lake Champlain cleanup plan was not doing enough to reduce pollution in the lake and did not comply with the federal Clean Water Act. The EPA ultimately agreed, and ordered revisions to the cleanup plan, including new phosphorus reduction targets and a framework to achieve those targets. The plan focused on addressing all of the main sources of pollution harming the lake and its tributaries – which include wastewater discharges, runoff from farms, and stormwater pollution from developed land.  

Building on this work, in 2015 the Vermont Legislature enacted the Vermont Clean Water Act (VCWA). The main purpose of this law was to implement the revised cleanup plan for Lake Champlain. The VCWA required the Agency of Natural Resources to improve programs that reduce pollution from wastewater treatment plants, farms, and stormwater, and created a clean water fund to help pay for these programs. When passing this important clean water law, Vermonters came together with a mantra of being “all in” on cleaning up the lake, recognizing all polluters must take action to ensure clean water across the state.

At the time the Vermont Clean Water Act was passed in 2015, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development estimated that Vermont receives $2.5 billion dollars in tourism spending annually, of which $300 million comes from tourism in and around Lake Champlain. Environmental groups, business groups, farmers, and municipalities (who own and operate most wastewater treatment facilities and are responsible for roads that contribute to stormwater pollution) all recognized that Vermont’s economy was tied directly to a healthy environment and that cleaning up Lake Champlain and protecting Vermont waters was not only an an environmental imperative but was crucial to a thriving local economy.

Almost a decade into implementing this marquee clean water legislation in Vermont, there have been mixed results. The Vermont Legislature did create a dedicated Clean Water Fund and the state has made much-needed upgrades to programs that reduce pollution. As a result, Vermont has achieved phosphorus reductions. However, the state has fallen short of reducing the pollution required by our federally approved cleanup plan, and we have a long way to go before we meet the targets in the Lake Champlain TMDL. Right now, we are less than halfway toward meeting our pollution reduction goals required by the federal Clean Water Act. 

This year, lawmakers must maintain our commitment to clean water by continuing to make key investments in pollution reduction programs. Vermont must also take steps to better regulate farm pollution. The federal government has found major shortcomings in our current approach that violate federal law, and the state must take action to improve this system for consistency, clarity, and cleaner water. Lawmakers should also consider a policy to improve practices around the use of road salt, which contributes to chloride pollution – another threat to our waters.

In addition to reducing water pollution, lawmakers also enacted the Flood Safety Act last year to address the severe flooding in Vermont. Like the cleanup of Lake Champlain, the success of the Flood Safety Act depends upon creating, implementing, and adding capacity to programs to increase public safety and the environment. The Flood Safety Act requires us to address development along our rivers and streams (our most dangerous flood-vulnerable areas), protecting wetlands to slow and store stormwater, and ensuring our dams are safe or safely removed.      

Now is a critical time to renew our commitment to protecting the health of our waters across Vermont. With the impacts of climate change growing, it is increasingly important to reduce pollution in our waterways, protect our communities against flooding, and foster healthy lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. Healthy water is essential to healthy communities and Vermont’s economy.