Governor Peter Shumlin issued the following statement after the Senate gave preliminary approval to H.35, legislation to clean up Vermont’s waterways, including Lake Champlain. As was the case in the original Housebill, the Senate version, scheduled for a third reading in the Senate Tuesday, would raise $8 million through a 0.2 percent surcharge on the property transfer tax, which is paid by the real estate buyer.
“I want to thank the Senate for passing a strong bill today that will clean up Lake Champlain and other waterways and strengthen Vermont’s economy. I made this a priority in January because Vermont’s waterways bind Vermonters tightly to our state and inspire others to put down roots here. Cleaning them up is not only important to who we are as Vermonters, it is integral to the state’s environmental and economic health. Both the House and the Senate have now acted to do that, and I look forward to signing a strong water quality bill into law.”
Vermont Natural Resources Council’s Water Program Director Kim Greenwood said, “Governor Shumlin and the legislature committed in January get a good clean water bill passed, and they have delivered with H.35. You don’t clean up polluted water overnight, but you’ve got to start somewhere and H.35 gives us a plan for action. There’s a whole lot of work to come, and we will keep at it because there are few things as important as clean water.”
Ultimately, the new law and the permits associated with it are intended to reduce the flow of pollutants into Vermont's waterways and Lake Champlain. The EPA could step in if the state does not act to increase water quality. Everyone from homeowners with paved driveways to farmers who fertilize their fields are seen as contributors to the problem. Lawmakers anticipate that stricter language directly targeting point-source polluters would be put in place after the surchage sunsets in 2018.