Vermont Business Magazine Sunset Lake Road runs along the eastern shore of Sunset Lake in Benson, VT. This scenic lake is a draw for recreational users, but the restricted nature of the public road along the lake’s narrow shoreline has resulted in multiple problems including an unstable and eroding shoreline, sediment and nutrient pollution into the lake from the gravel road, and little room for parking.
There is a long history of attempts to address these ongoing issues along the Sunset Lake shoreline in a piecemeal fashion, but a more holistic, well planned, and long-term approach is needed to truly remedy these issues.
The Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC) received funding from the Mount Ascutney Regional Commission Design/Implementation Block Grant program and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to hire a consultant to address these important water quality issues at Sunset Lake. A preliminary design suggesting several recommendations is now complete.
“The attempts to fix the situation have failed over time as they do not address the full scope of issues,” said RRPC Executive Director Devon Neary. “A more complete solution that considers lakeshore health and habitat, protection and improvement of water quality, natural resource impacts, current and future use of the lake, and the transportation infrastructure is exactly what this valuable Rutland Region resource needed.”
RRPC will now seek additional funding to finalize a design for the suggested measures. For further information, please call or email Barbara Noyes Pulling at (802)775-0871 or [email protected].
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