The Vermont Clean Water Act: Water Quality Protection, Land Use, and the Legacy of Tropical Storm Irene

Martin, T. (2016) The Vermont Clean Water Act: Water Quality Protection, Land Use, and the Legacy of Tropical Storm Irene. Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, 17(4), 688-709.

Vermont Act 64 of 2015 (“Act 64” or “Vermont Clean Water Act”) was passed with broad support and signed into law with much fanfare. Act 64 resulted from a major effort across state government, coordinated by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (“ANR” or the “Agency”) Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”). It is intended to provide legal tools, authority and capacity to comply with federal regulatory requirements to remediate significant phosphorus impairment in Lake Champlain, and more generally to address impaired waters across the state. Passed in anticipation of EPA action to adopt a new Lake Champlain Total Maximum Daily Load (“TMDL”), Act 64 supports the State of Vermont’s regulatory obligations established under section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”). It reaches beyond the “point source” pollution control scheme established by Congress under the CWA and expands state authority to address surface water pollution, particularly polluted stormwater runoff. In the CWA, Congress obligates states to take the steps necessary to restore impaired waters. In the case of Lake Champlain restoration, Vermont’s Act 64 promotes a set of policies— regulatory, fiscal, and planning—intended to protect, maintain, enhance, and restore Lake Champlain and all of Vermont’s surface waters as part of a statewide, programmatic Clean Water Initiative.