Vermont EPSCoR RACC has concluded its surveys assessing Vermont household’s willingness to pay to improve the health of Lake Champlain. The first survey was distributed in 2012 to over 5,000 households in Vermont. The second was conducted in 2013, as part of the longstanding “Vermonter Poll” which the University of Vermont’s Center for Rural Studies performs annually, contacting over 2,000 households. Together, results indicated that 65 percent of respondents would be willing to pay at least $40 per year to help improve the health of Lake Champlain. This first of its kind overarching study targeted 2 key questions for policy makers and local and state leaders: Would you be willing to pay to help improve the health of Lake Champlain. Secondly, is your proximity to the Lake a factor in this decision?
Interestingly, researchers found that the majority of respondents were willing to pay at least $40 per year towards this effort. Similarly, they found that their proximity to Lake Champlain did not play a role in this decision. Researchers analyzing the results view this to be of particular interest which they plan to explore further in future surveys.
Dr Christopher Koliba, scientific research leader of the project, said that “we asked state policy makers what questions they had regarding Vermonters’ perceptions of water quality. We were encouraged to survey Vermonters’ attitudes toward a range of fund raising policy tools that were being considered in response to the TMDL directive from the EPA requiring Vermont.” The research team focused on a few fund raising tools that were being considered by the State and asked respondents to assess each option.
Respondents indicated that they would be willing to pay at least $40 per year as part of a water user fee tax ascribed to those on municipal water systems and also potentially as an add on to their motor vehicle registration. All totaled, researchers estimated that the added fees could potentially raise over $15M per year towards the State of Vermont’s efforts to improve the water quality of the Lake and Vermont’s waterways.
The surveys were made possible by VT EPSCoR’s recent award from the National Science Foundation on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Lake Champlain Basin: New Understanding through Complex Systems Award.
VT State EPSCoR Director, Dr. Judith Van Houten said, “I am extremely pleased with this new information now available for policy makers and state leaders to consider as they seek options to help address the health of the Lake. Vermont benefits greatly from the economy generated from Lake activities and we are aligned with these efforts to help study the best way to help ensure its health well into the future.”
"This report confirms that Vermonters feel strongly about protecting Vermont's waters, especially Lake Champlain," said Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner David Mears. Vermont EPSCoR RACC is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) #EPS 1101317. Located at the University of Vermont (UVM), the statewide program supports research for faculty, post-doctoral associates, graduate students and undergraduates at UVM and baccalaureate colleges across Vermont.
The EPSCoR program also offers competitive funding opportunities for businesses and has a strong high school outreach program, through its Center for Workforce Development and Diversity (CWDD) located at Saint Michael’s College.
Source: Vermont EPSCoR 11.20.2014