Saturday, May 11, 2019
A bill that would allow Vermonters affected by the release of toxic chemicals to more easily recoup medical monitoring expenses passed unanimously out of a key House committee Friday.
It did so over the objections of industry groups who worry the law would make it too easy for people to sue Vermont businesses and harder for businesses to buy chemicals from suppliers.
S.37 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee, and now is likely to head back to the Senate.
William Driscoll, a lobbyist for Associated Industries of Vermont, said he worried about the impacts of a last-minute addition to the bill allowing the state to go after not just those involved in the release of chemicals, but chemical manufacturers as well.
“If they become more choosy in terms of what companies to sell to, some manufacturers in Vermont may not be able to get the chemicals they need to do business,” Driscoll said.
Tags: Chemfab , Saint-Gobain , Bennington , chemicals , clean water , PFOA , toxics , Web Only , Image
Friday, May 10, 2019
The bill, S.113, passed on a voice vote, but an earlier procedural vote of 120 to 24 showed that it had broad support in the chamber.
Thursday’s debate was dominated by House Republicans, who alternated between criticizing the legislation and asking highly specific hypothetical questions about its implications for Vermonters and local businesses.
Rep. Bob Helm (R-Fair Haven) accused the bill's supporters of “fear-mongering” about the evils of plastic waste and the impact of Vermont’s trash on the global plastic problem.
“It’s certainly not good, but it’s not that bad,” Helm said of the material, adding that he will “not take the blame for any [plastic bags] that are in the ocean.”
Tags: plastic bag , single-use plastic , styrofoam cup , styrofoam , expanded polystrene , grocery bag , Patrick Brennan , Patrick Seymour , Bill Canfield , Mitzi Johnson , James McCullough , Bob Helm , Bill Lippert , Web Only , Image
Thursday, May 9, 2019
House debate on the bill, S. 96, focused almost exclusively on the funding mechanism for the legislation. The distribution system was largely designed by the Senate, which passed an earlier version of the bill last month without including any new money for clean water.
The House Ways and Means committee drafted a plan that would use 4 percent of the revenue from Vermont’s rooms and meals tax. Those funds are currently dedicated to the state’s Education Fund.
In order to offset the drop in education money, the proposal would levy a sales tax on “pre-written software” accessed over the internet.
Tags: water quality , TMDL , Lake Champlain , Lake Carmi , clean water , clean water fund , phosphorus , Cynthia Browning , Robin Chesnut-Tangerman , Kitty Toll , Laura Sibilia , Rodney Graham , Janet Ancel , cloud tax , education fund , rooms and meals tax , Web Only , Image
Friday, March 29, 2019
The 27-3 vote followed a short debate that largely focused on a 10-cent fee on single-use paper bags included in the bill. Some senators voiced concern that the fee would be a hardship for low-income Vermonters.
Mostly, though, senators spoke in support of the bill, S.113, which would also establish a study committee to examine the effects of plastic on Vermont’s waste stream and other policies that might help reduce plastic waste.
Sen. Chris Bray (D-Addison), the bill’s lead sponsor, said Vermont needs to address plastic waste “without being the street sweeper following the parade — always cleaning up.”
Tags: plastic , plastic bags , plastic straws , foam , expanded polystyrene , Chris Bray , Phil Baruth , Becca Balint , Corey Parent , James McNeil , Brian Collamore , Web Only , Image
Monday, March 25, 2019
The Senate has approved legislation that would require lead testing at all schools and childcare facilities and would mandate plumbing work at any schools with lead levels higher than three parts per billion. The Senate also approved $2.5 million to fund the tests and half the costs of replacing any faucets.
The legislature's urgency is due in part to a 2018 Agency of Education pilot program that tested water at 16 schools. Of the 900 faucets and fountains checked, 27 had lead levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit of 15 parts per billion. In response, Gov. Phil Scott called on the legislature to act quickly to expand the program statewide.
House Education chair Kate Webb (D-Shelburne) said Monday that her committee fully supports lead reduction, but its members have concerns about the Senate plan. The House panel is working this week on the bill that the Senate passed and could make significant changes.
“What we’re finding in hearing from facilities managers is that some of the assumptions that [Senators] made … are not always accurate,” Webb said.
Tags: drinking water , lead , toxins , lead poisoning , schools , day care , childcare , poison , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Industry groups and a lobbyist for movie theaters voiced opposition to the proposal Wednesday, arguing that such a law would do more harm than good for the environment and human health.
Students and environmentalists, on the other hand, said the bill, S.113, represents the first step in tackling Vermont’s share of the global plastic waste problem, which is fueled by disposable products that decompose slowly.
The proposal doesn’t ban other single-use containers such as takeout boxes and coffee cups but calls for a study committee to look into the consequences of banning those items.
Tags: plastic ban , plastic straws , plastic bags , styrofoam , Judith Augsberg , John Rodgers , Malayla Green , Brian Campion , Corey Parent , Mark MacDonald , Matt McMahon , Statehouse , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
The defeat by fewer than 200 votes was a disappointment, Town Manager Aaron Frank said Tuesday night.
"The selectboard will have to take a pause, do some reflection and figure out where do we go from here,” Frank said.
Inadequate private septic systems at homes and camps along the bay can leak human waste into the water, a problem the proposed sewer line was intended to mitigate. But critics said it was an expensive project that wouldn't actually solve complex pollution problems in the scenic and heavily used bay. They also worried the sewer line would accelerate development.
Tags: Colchester , Malletts Bay , sewer line , boats , septic system , Aaron Frank , Image , Web Only
Friday, March 1, 2019
Rebecca Ellis, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, will begin work as Welch’s state director on March 25, according to a press release.
Ellis has been involved in Vermont state government since she became an assistant attorney general in 1997. Then-governor Peter Shumlin appointed Ellis to represent Waterbury in the House of Representatives in 2011, where she served until joining the DEC in 2015.
Ellis will oversee Welch's Vermont operations. The Burlington-based staff deals with constituent services, fields calls from local media and coordinates the boss' official schedule when he visits the state, among other things.
Tags: Rebecca Ellis , Julie Moore , Peter Welch , Peter Shumlin , Department of Environmental Conservation , Agency of Natural Resources , water quality , Congress , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicated in a letter Monday that a proposal put forth by Gov. Phil Scott’s administration passes muster. The determination is based on the assumption that the legislature will approve the funding plan.
Scott’s proposed state budget includes new funding for clean water from the estate tax, which is expected to provide $9 million or more each year.
The February 11 letter, signed by acting regional EPA administrator Deborah A. Szaro, is part of an ongoing effort to bring Lake Champlain and other Vermont waterways into compliance with the Clean Water Act. The state is under a federal order to reduce the amount of phosphorus that flows into the lake, which fuels smelly and potentially toxic algae blooms.
The federal stamp of approval marks a significant milestone for the Scott administration, which was warned last year that the state’s continued failure to come up with a long-term funding plan could jeopardize its "provisional" passing grade on water cleanup. Under the Vermont Clean Water Act of 2015, Scott's administration was required to release a long-term funding proposal by the end of 2017. The administration didn't come up with a proposal, frustrating last year's efforts to set up a funding source.
Tags: Julie Moore , Phil Scott , Environmental Protection Agency , Agency of Natural Resources , Lake Champlain , TMDL , EPA , lake cleanup , Deborah Szaro , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
The board of trustees for the private liberal arts college unanimously voted to divest January 26 as part of a sweeping sustainability plan dubbed Energy2028, according to a Tuesday press release.
Trustees had previously rejected students' divestment demands. The college's resistance was notable because scholar-in-residence Bill McKibben is a leading proponent of the international movement, as is the organization he and a group of Midd students founded in 2008, 350.org.
Tags: Middlebury College , divestment , climate change , fossil fuels , Laurie Patton , Divest Middlebury , Bill McKibben , Image , Web Only