Current News

A recent report from the Burlington Electric Department of the last two years of BSD efficiency upgrade project costs, incentives, and savings showed a large increase from 2012 to 2013.The Burlington School District took on many efficiency projects during 2012 and 2013 including upgrading lighting at BHS and adding occupancy and day lighting sensors to the lighting in the gym, adding many variable speed drives to boiler pumps in several of the schools, upgrading the cooler and freezer at Edmunds to take advantage of outside cold air and more efficient motors, along with adding controls to ventilation fans so that they now run only when needed, among many other projects. The District has been busy and the community has benefited.

Another uncertified salvage yard has been forced to cease operations in Milton. McRae Auto/Wrecker Service agreed to a settlement that includes a $4,500.00 penalty and clean up requirements. The Department of Environmental Conservation’s Compliance and Enforcement Division Wednesday announced that it formally settled an environmental violation involving George and Patricia McRae.

Governor Peter Shumlin in Rutland Wednesday signed into law a bill promoting incentives for homes using clean-heating technologies like cold-climate heat and geothermal pumps, energy-efficient heating sources that save consumers money, stimulate the economy and create jobs, and protect the environment.

“For years, through Efficiency Vermont and other organizations, our state has focused like a laser on reducing our electric energy consumption. Add up all the efficiency investments since the year 2000, and Vermonters used an astounding 13 percent less electricity in 2013 than we would have otherwise,” Shumlin said.

by Mark Whitworth I attended the Public Service Board’s noise workshop in Morrisville a few weeks ago. The Board is trying to determine if the noise standards for energy projects are adequate. The purpose of the workshop was to hear from people who have been affected by energy projects. The Board heard from 44 people. Each talked about the Sheffield, Lowell, or Georgia Mountain wind projects. It was quite apparent that the turbines have done severe and long-lasting damage to each of these communities.

Nineteen of the 44 speakers said that the turbines do not affect them. Most of these 19 said they lived over a mile away from the nearest turbine, can’t hear them, and suffer no ill effects from them. Some of the 19 described taking the trouble to drive closer to the turbines or venture near them on snowmobiles. They listened, determined that it wasn’t so bad, and went back home where they could no longer hear them.

The Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) is looking for citizens interested in monitoring shoreline locations for blue-green algae blooms. Since 2003 LCC has coordinated an award-winning volunteer blue-green algae monitoring program along the lake’s shoreline working in collaboration with Vermont and New York environmental and health agencies. Volunteer monitors assess water conditions from over 50 sites around the lake.

The Senate on Wednesday voted nearly unanimously for a bill to expand hospitals and clinics run by the Department of Veterans Affairs and to hire more doctors and nurses to provide timely, quality care for veterans. The bipartisan bill by Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) would let veterans facing long delays for doctor appointments at VA facilities go elsewhere. Their measure also would hold VA officials accountable for trying to conceal patient wait times.

“Our job is to make certain that every veteran in the country gets quality health care in a timely manner,” Sanders said. “At a time when 2 million more veterans have come into the VA in the last four years, we must ensure that there are enough doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to meet the needs of veterans in every facility in the country.”

The Sanders-McCain emergency funding bill would:

Vermont Gas Systems on Tuesday asked the Vermont Public Service Board to waive part of its Certificate of Public Good so it could begin receiving materials necessary to the construction of its Addison natural gas pipeline. VGS said it is about a month behind schedule because of a delay in receiving the necessary permit from the Agency of Natural Resources, which happened on Monday. The Army Corps of Engineers said it now will have to review the ANR permit before issuing its own, which could take until the end of June. VGS wanted to start the process May 1. VGS is asking for the PSB to act by Friday.

VGS' Certificate of Public Good, issued by the PSB on December 13, 2013, requires the South Burlington based company to obtain permits from the ANR, VTrans and the ACOE before beginning construction or site preparation for Phase I of the pipeline. VGS has yet to receive a permit from the ACOE and is seeking to begin site preparation before the permit is issued.

The Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) has announced the approval of $12 million in economic development financing to support commercial, energy, small business and agricultural projects throughout Vermont. The approved financing will leverage additional resources to fund a total of more than $26 million in economic development activity throughout the state. Included in the financing are: Circus Smirkus, Clarendon Solar Farm, Black River Produce and Greenfield Capital.

For the first time, voluntary consumer blood alcohol content (BAC) data is available, providing insight into alcohol consumption patterns around the nation. The data was collected anonymously from users of BACtrack Mobile. Collectively called the BACtrack Consumption Report, the data will be regularly updated and analyzed to garner insights into global drinking habits. The US National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) has recommended lowering the legal driving limit from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent BAC. BACtrack breathalyzers are designed to help consumers understand their alcohol levels and make smarter choices. Vermont ranked among the top ten highest levels in these self-administered tests at 0.087 percent.

The Vermont Department of Taxes announced statistical findings for the 2014 tax season showing a rise in tax refund fraud in Vermont, a decrease in paper-filed returns coupled with an increase in e-filed returns, and other taxpayer trends in Vermont. According to Tax Commissioner Mary Peterson, a top priority for the department is guarding taxpayers and taxpayer money against tax refund fraud. “While the additional scrutiny affected the timing of some refund payments, it is critical to protect taxpayers,” Peterson said. “We believe our diligence has paid off. As of the beginning of June, the department detected 504 fraudulent tax returns, putting a stop to more than $900,000 worth of income tax refunds from going out the door and into the wrong hands.”

The Burlington Telecom Advisory Board held a special meeting recently to discuss CCTV, VCAM & RETN’s (Burlington’s Access Management Organizations – BAMO) proposal for a transparent, public process to protect the public interest when the City of Burlington sells Burlington Telecom to new owners. The city has been trying to sell BT because of the financial burden the all-fiber network has been on the city. BT owes the city $17 million and has dragged down the city's bond rating, which includes Burlington International Airport. BT finances have stabilized with an agreement in March involving local investors and debt-holder CitiBank, but Mayor Miro Weinberger wants to rid the city of the obligation.

On the heels of the Obama administration’s climate change plan announced last week and a recent government-funded report on climate change’s threat to national security, Vermont Law School’s Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (VJEL) explores the national security implications of a warming planet.

Released Monday and available online, “Rising Temps and Emerging Threats: The Intersection of Climate Change and National Security in the 21st Century” is a compilation of scholarship and remarks from VJEL’s 2013-2014 symposium of the same name, held last October at VLS. The publication includes articles by experts in climate science, international security, military law, and global migration.