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Vermont Business MagazineVermont Attorney General TJDonovan announced today that he has joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general urging Congress to reject the rollback of critical protective ozone air quality standards.In letters sent tothe chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the attorneys general detailed their opposition to the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017. This legislation would substantially delay the ozone standards promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 and mark a major step backwards in efforts to combat pollution and its negative impact on public health.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is looking for volunteers to monitor colonies of endangered bats this summer. The department is seeking volunteers willing to help count state-endangered little brown bats as they emerge at dusk at locations throughout the Champlain Valley. Vermont's little brown bats suffered massive declines due to the deadly disease white-nose syndrome. An estimated 90 percent of the state's bat population has been lost to this disease. Although some bats still die from the disease each winter, others continue to survive and reproduce. By counting bats at their summer colonies each summer, the Fish & Wildlife Department can track population changes over time and the bats' long-term response to white-nose syndrome.

by Annette Smith Prospective neighbors of wind turbines heard all the promises:“Quiet as a library.”“Like a baby’s breath.”“The same decibel level as a refrigerator.”The more brazen wind developers claimed “you will not hear them.” Then the four hundred and fifty foot wind towers with their bus-size nacelles and three-bladed fans were built.Sixteen in Sheffield, four on Georgia Mountain, twenty-one in Lowell.Andneighbors learned the truth.Yes, you can hear them.They sound like “a jet plane that never lands,” or “sneakers in a drier,” or there is a “thump thump thump” or a “whoosh whoosh whoosh” as the blade passes the tower, causing something called amplitude modulation.

“If the noise was the same all the time, maybe we could get used to it,” say some exasperated neighbors.

by Guy Page Vermont’s regulatory system works best when it expertly and promptly considers a project’s economic benefits and environmental impacts. I have confidence the Vermont Public Service Board will act in this fine tradition in Docket 8880, NorthStar’s proposed decommissioning of Vermont Yankee. In this spirit, I am concerned by two significant misunderstandings expressed at public meetings and in the press: that the project is underfunded, and that it has no set completion date. Both positions are incorrect, according to a January 24 report to the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel and an April 6 document submitted by NorthStar to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Vermont Business Magazine Community Bank System, Inc (NYSE: CBU) and Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT) announced Wednesday that they have received, as expected, regulatory approvals from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for their proposed merger. As previously reported by VBM, Community Bank System and Merchants also announced they have set Friday, May 12, 2017, as the closing date for the $304 million merger, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The election process that is currently underway to permit the Merchants stockholders to elect the form of their merger consideration is being extended to May 9, 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine In a recent letter, a group of 19 state attorneys general are urging members of Congress and the President to adequately fund drug treatment in any plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or commonly known as ObamaCare). The initial ACA replacement plan would have cut federal funding for drug treatment by an estimated $5.5 billion.

Vermont Business Magazine New England is expected to have enough energy to meet consumer demand for electricity this summer, according to ISO New England Inc, but margins will be tighter as about 2,200 megawatts of power will not be available due to either delays or plant retirements. Tight supply margins could develop if forecasted peak system conditions occur. If this happens, ISONE said it will take steps to manage New England’s electricity supply and demand in real time and maintain power system reliability. However, ISONE estimates that current supply will still be well ahead of the historic peak load hit during the summer of 2006.

Vermont Business Magazine Sophie Brochu, President and CEO of Gaz Métro, and Pierre Gabriel Côté, President and CEO of Investissement Québec announced Monday that the new liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity of Gaz Métro GNL, a subsidiary of Gaz Métro and Investissement Québec, is now available at the Gaz Métro liquefaction plant located in Montréal, which is distributed in Canada and into New England, but not yet in Vermont.

Vermont Business MagazineNational Life celebrated its “Do Good” culture in itsannual report, marking records set both in the business and in the company’s commitment to the communities it serves. An interactive version of the 2016 annual report was posted online in advance of National Life’s annual meeting in mid-May. “We had another outstanding year and this report reflects that success,” said Mehran Assadi, National Life President and CEO. “We believe strongly in our cause to Do Good. We’re proud to say that’s good for business and good for our neighbors.”

Among the accomplishments noted in the report:

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) released the following statement Wednesday after President Donald Trump released his plan for tax reform. Below Sanders' statement is the briefing held for the White House press corps Wendesday afternoon that describes and discusses the tax plan. Among other things, it reduces the number of tax brackets, eliminates the Estate Tax, closes some loopholes and overall will reduce both the personal and corporate taxes in order to stimulate the economy.

Vermont Business Magazine SmartAsset, a national data aggregator, has ranked Vermont the fifth best for K-12 education, making an overall grade of "A-," largely based on the state spending more per child than any other state. Nationwide, the average public school revenue per student enrolled during the 2014-2015 school year was$12,578, according to theNational Education Association (the teachers union). Funding per student in Vermont ($27,962) is more than twice the national average. Vermont also ranked first for its low student-teacher ratio. Data from the NEA reveals that there are fewer than 10 students for every K-12 public school teacher. Additionally, the state’s four-year high school graduation rate is a relatively high 88 percent. The state lost ground in the ranking by having a relatively low college attendance rate (54 percent).

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University will break ground on a new academic building—Mack Hall—as well as renovations to Webb, Dewey and Ainsworth Halls in a combined $48.5 million project, at a ceremony on Friday, April 28. At 5:30 pm, community members will assemble at the west side corridor of Webb Hall to celebrate the start of the two-year construction project. The new building, named for Robert B. ’64, H ’06, trustee emeritus and Tammie Mack, is slated to open in August 2018. When this entire project is completed in 2019, 40 percent of all academic space on campus will be new or have had a complete upgrade or renovation.

Alan F DeForest ’75 & P ’01, chairman of the board of trustees; Deborah E. McNally, Class of 2018; and President Richard W. Schneider will give remarks to mark the occasion.