The event included environmental advocates, municipal leaders and two of the most well-connected members of the Vermont business community. They were there to declare unified support for creation of a state Clean Water Authority and establishment of a per-parcel fee to fund water cleanup efforts that have been mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
They stressed the need for a nonpolitical, independent, expert panel to manage a long-term cleanup program.
In the past, “We’ve allowed the polarization and the demagoguery to get in the way,” said Tom Torti, president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We are very proud and pleased to stand here with a cast of characters that, 10, 15, 20 years ago you would never see standing together, to put something forward that we think is monumental in the history of Vermont.”
The groups say they have been working quietly for months to build a coalition that could convince the legislature and governor to create the fee and the authority during the 2018 session.
“The time for study is over,” said Jon Groveman, policy and water program director for the Vermont Natural Resources Council. “The time for action is now.”
Their proposal does not include a specific number for the per-parcel fee. The first step, they said, is creating the Clean Water Authority — which would come back to the legislature in 2019 with a specific fee plan. They offered a broad guesstimate that it would be in the $50- to $100-per-year range for a typical household.
The Vermont League of Cities and Towns had released a study indicating that a per-parcel fee would bring high administrative costs. But Friday, St. Albans city manager Dominic Cloud, the president of VLCT, spoke in favor of such a fee. He explained that the study considered two collecting authorities: municipalities and the state tax department. He said a new, independent authority could devise a less costly collection method.
Business leaders will bear a particular burden in this effort, given their support for the notoriously anti-new-tax Gov. Phil Scott.
“I work closely with Phil,” said Ernie Pomerleau of Burlington-based Pomerleau Real Estate. “I’m a Republican. I understand ‘no fees, no taxes.’ I don’t want to pay a fee. But it’s not if we’ll be assessed; it’s how and when.”
The assembled advocates are supporting S.260 and H.564, which include the two core provisions — a clean water authority and a per-parcel fee. Those bills do not specify that the authority would collect the fee; the advocates are calling for that method to be included in the legislation.
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Totally agree…..it’s not if we’re taxed, it’s when . We must act now, but I worry that money raised will be eaten up by admin costs and high salaries, instead of concrete solutions.
These per-parcel fees are off the mark. Let’s stand up to the agricultural special-interest group for once and repeal our Current Use program–an inefficient subsidy awarded to farmers largely responsible for the Phosphorous pollution crisis and props up farms that wouldn’t be economically feasible in a free-market. Let’s prevent the pollution rather than look for costly treatments. No one’s saying we should fix global warming via geo-engineering, why are we trying to engineer a solution here?
The windfall the state Education Fund will see from a repeal (or realistically some type of reform) of current use will be dramatic and enough to likely end the GF –> Ed Fund transfer. That GF savings can be used for other water quality improvements. We must act now.
I know, I know, Vermonters (both D and R constituencies) love the “pastoral views”; we love hiking Mt Philo and seeing the ‘working landscape’ of the Champlain Valley so heaven for bid we touch Current Use. But at what environmental cost will society have to bear so we can have that view on top Mt Philo?
Why, just this week, both WCAX, and WPTZ, reported 2,000,000 gallons of sewage and stormwater, was released from wastewater treatment plants into Lake Champlain. ‘ A required reporting, as per WCAX, due to the potential negative health impacts on the population.
http://www.mynbc5.com/article/more-than-1m…
And, not just in St. Albans, but in Lunenberg, Burlington, Rutland, MIddlebury and Vergennes.
It’s time to stop vilifying farmers and homeowners, and address the real problem.
Sure, I’ll be happy to pay that per parcel tax, as soon as this stops:
http://www.mynbc5.com/article/more-than-1m…
Ive been working to support solutions to this problem for years. Its way past time that everyone wakes up to this issue. It affects us all.
If the main point source contributors are not changed, principally agricultural runoff , sewage treatment plant overflows, then any tax surcharge will be assessed forever. The cleanup will never catch up with the ongoing sources. Even if all Point source polluters were stopped tomorrow, there is enough legacy phosphorus in the sediments to support algae blooms for decades.
Tax me and I will support it but only if Point source polluters are regulated .
Pomerleau et al have profited off of VT’s lack of regulatory enforcement for years, and they’ve damaged the waterways with their impervious surface. They need to pay! Fix your parking lots and comply with clean water rules and regulations. The time for action is now – no more studies.