Current News

Vermont Business Magazine PC Construction joined PurposeEnergy last Friday to officially break ground on the Middlebury Resource Recovery Center (MRRC), which will convert residual materials from food and beverage manufacturing into renewable energy and cleaned effluent. This innovative project will provide a lower-cost, local, greener alternative for food and beverage waste disposal. When fully operational, the MRRC will treat approximately 80,000 gallons per day of food waste and wastewater, converting over 90% of the organic content into renewable biogas that will be used to generate more than one megawatt of renewable electricity for Vermont homes and businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine As the Northeast faces unprecedented uncertainty and challenges in the energy market, Global Partners LP has donated $2 million to provide heating oil for those in need. The donation was directed to seven states in the Northeast and distributed to local nonprofit entities serving low-income households: $1.3 million was evenly split between Massachusetts and New York; An additional $700,000 was split between Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

by Basil Waugh, University of Vermont When the calendar turns to 2023, sustainable food and agriculture researcher Meredith Niles will take a new role at the University of Vermont—as acting director of the Gund Institute for Environment. Niles will lead the Gund Institute for Environment—a research center with the ambitious mission of mobilizing scholars and decision makers to tackle urgent environmental challenges—until August 1, 2023, while director Taylor Ricketts embarks on a research sabbatical.

Vermont Business Magazine US Attorney Nikolas P Kerest announced today that the District of Vermont collected $1,597,621.03 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2022. Of this amount, $1,076,812.47 was collected in criminal actions and $520,808.56 was collected in civil actions. Additionally, the District of Vermont worked with other US Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $23,423.31 in cases pursued jointly by these offices.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Co-op is urging members to prepare for extended power outages later this week as very high winds, followed by dangerous icing, are in the forecast. The National Weather Service office in Burlington is calling for wind gusts well in excess of 60 mph for much of the Green Mountain State starting late Thursday night into Friday evening. Winds are expected to take down trees and powerlines causing widespread and numerous power outages. Compounding the challenge will be flooding caused by heavy rain and snowmelt, followed by rapidly dropping temperatures Friday night into Saturday creating icy conditions as the storm passes.

Vermont Business Magazine GMP is tracking multiple forecasts to prepare for possible very high winds gusting up to 65 MPH across Vermont starting Thursday night and lasting through the day on Friday. Winds of that speed are very dangerous and can tear down trees and lines, causing outages. This is a very large regional storm that has all of the Midwest and Northeast expecting weather that could cause disruptions. To assist our customers and to support internal GMP lineworkers, GMP has kept external crews in the state that were here helping to restore power during the Nor’easter last week that brought damaging heavy wet snow and outages to Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the issuance of the final Pretreatment Discharge permit by Watershed Management Division to Casella Waste for the continued authorization of the New England Waste Services of Vermont (NEWSVT) landfill in Coventry to discharge (collect and transport) leachate to the Montpelier Wastewater Treatment Plant. Leachate is generated from the decomposition of waste and precipitation coming into contact with the landfilled material. The water leaches out chemicals from the waste, including Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Senator-elect Peter Welch (D-Vermont) are praising the recommendation issued Monday by the President’s Pay Agent to include Windsor and Orange Counties in Vermont, and Grafton and Sullivan County in New Hampshire, in the Boston area locality pay region. This action is a critical step in bringing federal salaries in Southeastern Vermont into greater parity with other area employers and making it easier for federal employers such as the White River Junction VA and the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab to recruit and retain talented employees.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has announced that former Vermont journalist Eva McKend, now with CNN, and Gus Faucher, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, PNC Financial Services Group, will be the keynote speakers at the Vermont Economic Conference. The VEC is back in person for 2023 and will provide an essential economic foundation for the year ahead. The conference will take place on January 30, 2023, from 8 AM - 2 PM at the University of Vermont - Dudley H. Davis Center. The event will also feature a presentation of the 2022 Outstanding Business of the Year Award to recipient Hickok & Boardman Insurance Group.