Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Interim Secretary of Administration Sarah Clark today released Vermont’s revenue results for August 2024. The General Fund and Education Fund exceeded their respective monthly consensus cash flow target, as adopted by the Emergency Board at its July 2024 meeting, while the Transportation Fund missed its target. The State’s General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Education Fund receipts were a combined $242.6 million, exceeding the $238.2 million monthly consensus target by $4.4 million, or 1.8%, which corresponded to the August monthly portion of the annual consensus forecast.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.23 per gallon, up 0.1 cent/g from last week, down 12.9 cents from last month and down 55 cents from last year. The lowest price in the state is $2.72/g in West Brattleboro, while the highest was $3.48/g in Essex County. Windham and Bennington counties had the lowest average prices and the highest averages were in Caledonia, Lamoille and Chittenden counties. The national average gasoline prices are $3.20 per gallon, down 1 cent/g from last week, down 13.1 cents from last month and down 60.7 cents from last year.

VermontBiz Students from Red Fox Community School recently embarked on an educational adventure to Hildene, the Lincoln Family home in Manchester, Vermont. The field trip focused on an in-depth exploration of Vermont's wild turkey population, combining history, biology, and environmental studies.

"Our visit to Hildene provided students with a unique opportunity to understand the intricate relationship between wildlife and Vermont's changing landscape," said Karen O'Neill Thomson, Head of School at Red Fox Community School. "It's a perfect example of our commitment to hands-on, interdisciplinary learning."

VermontBiz The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) and Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) invite the public to participate in the first set of virtual public meetings on the topic of cap-and-invest as a strategy to reduce climate pollution. The meetings will be held on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Visit climatechange.vermont.gov/calendar to register and receive the Zoom link.

VermontBiz The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) announces the opening of applications for the fourth competitive round of the Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund.

In collaboration with VLITE, Vermont Community Foundation’s Sunflower Fund and others, VCRD is supporting innovators in developing solutions that move Vermont closer to its climate and energy goals. The first three rounds provided grants to 68 local innovators totaling over $200,000. 

VermontBiz Vermont State University (VTSU) is proud to announce that it was recently awarded a $1.8 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, along with researchers from the University of Maine, to conduct groundbreaking research on ticks and invasive plant species. 

VTSU faculty members Drs. Kristen Ross and William Landesman are co-investigators on the grant. The project, titled “Management of linked human and ecosystem health threats in the private woodland socio-environmental system” is funded through NSF’s Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems program and will provide valuable research opportunities for undergraduate students over the next five years. 

by Kate Kampner, Community News Service Sam Swanson understands people can feel hopeless in preventing climate change. “You can feel the despair,” he said. “No one needs to be doing the things that need to be done.” As a member of Vermont Interfaith Power and Light, he and colleagues are taking an approach to environmental advocacy they hope can provide a bit more hope — by looking at climate solutions through a religious and spiritual lens. The group is a faith-based organization group that educates religious communities on the environmental movement. It provides spiritual comfort and material, like when members held an event last fall at Burlington’s Rock Point where they reflected on the recent floods through workshops and meditations for spiritual guidance. There, organization board president Ron McGarvey said, people could share in their pain — and their hope. Faith leaders see that sense of resolve as another way to rally people to action.

Vermont Business Magazine The Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC) is pleased to announce that thanks to Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation, Clean Water Service Provider Program funding, a preliminary design has been completed for a wetland restoration project adjacent to the Mettowee Community School in Pawlet. The design work was done by Otter Creek Engineering for the Merck Forest & Farmland Center in Rupert. The primary goal of the project is to improve water quality by retaining water and associated sediment on the landscape where phosphorus and other nutrients are taken up by wetland plants rather than flowing downstream into the Mettawee River. Other project goals include habitat restoration and educational opportunities for the school. 

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (Nasdaq: CWST) published its 2024 Sustainability Report Tuesday, outlining its progress toward five key sustainability metrics, while highlighting significant achievements in several areas since its last report was issued in 2022. The Casella team has grown by more than 32% since 2022 and is approaching 5,000 total employees. Even with its growth, the Company reported continued improvement in its safety performance, with its total recordable incident rate (TRIR) dropping nearly 20% since 2019. A key contributor to improving safety performance has been the Company’s success in filling vacancies and maintaining near-full staffing levels, buoyed by the more than 300 drivers and technicians who have successfully trained at the Company’s Kenneth A. Hier Sr. CDL Training Center with a focus on safety, service, and commitment to excellence.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the Emergency Loans Reform Act of 2024, legislation to reform the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Emergency Loan Program to remove barriers to emergency funds and be more responsive to the needs of farmers and ranchers in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The Emergency Loans Reform Act would amend USDA’s Emergency Loan Program to remove the written credit denials requirement and increase flexibility in defining losses. The aim of the legislation is to improve eligibility and access for farmers seeking emergency loan funding.

Lake Champlain Committee As we say goodbye to summer and move into fall, this is a time of transition at LCC and elsewhere. After nearly four decades working at this wonderful organization, I will retire at the end of December, shortly after we go through another seasonal transition. If you missed earlier notice about my retirement, you’ll find my letter of departure here and a letter from chair Gary Kjelleren and a press announcement in this E-News. Deep thanks to everyone who has reached out with personal messages—I’m very touched and appreciate your patience as I write back to each of you. In this E-News you’ll also find an update on the joint petition we filed with the Conservation Law Foundation and Vermont Natural Resources Council documenting how the fraught relationship and dual responsibility between Vermont state agencies for regulating water pollution on farms both fails farmers and doesn’t protect water quality. EPA responded by conducting their own investigation and issuing findings that Vermont’s program operations do not meet requirements of the Clean Water Act. The corrective actions required will result in a transition of how Vermont regulates farms.

Renewable Energy Vermont Former Commissioner Allison Clements (2020-2024) joined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission following a range of public and private sector experience in energy law and grid modernization policy. Prior to her role as commissioner, she worked at Energy Foundation, Goodgrid LLC, and Natural Resources Defense Council. She began her legal career in private practice at Troutman Sanders LLP and Chadbourne & Parke LLP. Over the course of her career, her clients have included utilities, independent power producers, developers, lenders, nonprofits, and philanthropies.