Montpelier, VT—In a win for Vermont water quality, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit (DC Circuit Court) has rejected the hydropower dam company Morrisville Water & Light’s (MWL) challenge in which MWL argued that the Agency of Natural Resources violated a provision of the federal Clean Water Act in their relicensing of the Lamoille River Basin Project. 

This major decision strongly clarifies that when a utility voluntarily agrees that more time is needed to address issues related to Water Quality (401 Certificate) the state is not intentionally delaying a decision, and the utility can no longer use this argument to stymie the hydropower dam relicensing process. 

Karina Dailey, Restoration Ecologist and VNRC Dam Removal Program Director explains, “It’s a great decision that supports the understanding that when more time is needed is to address issues related to water quality it should not result in a waiver of a State’s authority to issue a 401 Certificate. It also removes one of Morrisville Water & Light’s delay tactics and gets us closer to actually implementing water quality improvements, which MWL has delayed for years.” 

This decision puts Vermont one step closer to resolving a years-long dispute over what Morrisville Water and Light must do to meet the Vermont Water Quality Standards (VWQS). 

“VNRC is hopeful that this decision will pave the way for Morrisville Water & Light to operate its hydroelectric dams in a manner that protects the habitat of the Lamoille and Green Rivers,” says Jon Groveman, VNRC Policy and Water Program Director. “Six years after the Vermont Supreme Court decision, MWL is still not in compliance with the water quality standards and this is unacceptable, so we are happy to see this acknowledgement of a need for accountability.”