As we enter the final stretch of Vermont’s 2025 legislative session, we continue to remain vigilant to ensure the legislature doesn’t roll back any of the recent environmental progress we’ve made – particularly on clean energy, climate resilience, forest and biodiversity conservation, smart growth housing, clean water, and toxic chemical reforms. This work is urgent in the face of federal threats to core environmental laws.
For many of these recently-enacted Vermont policies, implementation is underway and we are engaging in stakeholder and rulemaking processes to ensure these laws are rolled out effectively. We’ll let you know when we see opportunities for you to weigh in.
We’re also pushing to enact several new state policies, including bills to make it easier to go solar, ban toxic PFAS-containing products, reduce pollution from road salt, better protect amphibians, reptiles and other species, and improve how we regulate water pollution on farms. The state budget has been adopted, and included funding that will help the state government implement the Climate Superfund and Act 250 modernization. Find out more below!
Vermont Policy Updates
Climate & Clean Energy
A bill that will make it easier to install solar energy (S.50) is on the Governor’s desk. This legislation will make it faster and cheaper for Vermonters who are electrifying their lives – buying electric vehicles, installing heat pumps, and adopting other climate-friendly technologies – to go solar at home. The policy will allow ground-mounted net metered systems up to 25kW (instead of the current 15kW limit) to use an expedited fast registration process, instead of a slower and more expensive application process. The bill has passed in the House and Senate, and we hope it will be signed by the Governor soon.
VNRC advocated in support of funding for implementation of the Climate Superfund law. The final version of the budget adopted by the legislature and signed by Gov. Scott includes $350,000 to support the Treasurer’s work to assess the historical and projected costs Vermont will face because of changes to the climate attributable to certain greenhouse gas emissions. The types of costs include impacts from flooding and heat waves, among others. Understanding these costs are important to Vermont so we can plan for the future, and this assessment is a key piece of work needed to hold the largest fossil fuel companies accountable for helping pay for the damage caused by their products.
Finally, we saw a flurry of amendments to try to repeal important aspects of Vermont’s existing climate laws in the first weeks of May, which were defeated so far – but we anticipate efforts will continue until the final gavel falls. Your calls and emails continue to make a difference. Thank you for helping us oppose further attempts at climate rollbacks!
Toxics Reductions
Legislation to ban harmful PFAS “forever chemicals” from dental floss, cleaning products, firefighting gear, and fluorinated containers (H.238) has been passed by the House and Senate. The House will consider the Senate’s amendments to the bill, and we hope it will soon be adopted and sent to the Governor. This policy builds on laws Vermont has enacted in recent years to ban PFAS “forever chemicals” from other products including cosmetics, cookware, clothing, and children’s products. These chemicals harm human health and the environment, and laws like H.238 help turn off the tap of bringing more of these dangerous chemicals into our state.
Protecting Biodiversity
The Senate recently passed a bill to better protect amphibians and reptiles and threatened and endangered species (the language is now included in H.231). The House will now consider the Senate’s amended language. The bill includes measures to prohibit the taking of a reptile or amphibian, unless approved by rules by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and it tightens the prohibition on the sale or export of wild birds or animals, and their body parts, for commercial purposes, unless approved by rule or a permit. The bill also improves the ability to keep the location of a threatened or endangered species confidential during a permitting process.
Clean Water
We are supporting a policy to decrease the amount of road salt we use, which will reduce harmful chloride pollution. This language was adopted by the House, and is now being considered by the Senate in H.319, a miscellaneous Agency of Natural Resources bill. We hope to see this policy adopted by the Senate soon, and enacted this year.
We are weighing in on legislation that relates to how the state regulates water pollution on farms so we can bring our program in compliance with the Clean Water Act (S.124). This bill passed the Senate, and is now being deliberated in the House. VNRC has made recommendations on how to strengthen the bill to create a more effective and efficient farm pollution regulatory program.
VNRC is also working on a bill (S.45) related to when people can hold a farm accountable if they harm a neighboring property – such as contaminating their water supply. Very few lawsuits have ever been brought against Vermont farms, and we are working to ensure that a good balance is struck to allow farms to operate in good faith, while providing adequate protection for neighbors from harmful impacts from things like water pollution coming onto their property. We anticipate this bill moving to the House floor soon.
Smart Growth Housing
The Senate and House are both continuing to work on bills to encourage more housing. S.127 passed the Senate and is being considered in the House, and H.479 passed the House and is being considered in the Senate. VNRC supports increased investments in housing and continues to advocate to ensure any housing policies continue to maintain a smart growth approach – making it easier to build housing where we want it while also protecting critical natural resources, intact forests, and our working lands. So far, these principles are reflected in these policies, and we will watchdog these bills in the final days to ensure a smart growth approach is maintained.