CLF is proud to be among a growing coalition of 32 key Vermont businesses, anglers’s associations, and environmental organizations who have signed a resolution “Urging Public Officials And Elected Leaders To Acknowledge The Value Of Clean Water To Vermont’s Public And Economic Health And To Sustainably Invest In The Same.” Though the name of the resolution is long, the idea behind it is quite simple: our health, happiness, economic prosperity, and reputation as a state depend on our ability to keep our waters clean, full of aquatic wildlife, and accessible to all. Doing so will require renewed public sector investment. 

Renewed public investment to Keep our water safe and clean is worth it! Photo Credit: Shutterstock

The resolution, excerpted below, speaks for itself. You can download a copy and find a full list of coalition members by clicking here. With the Vermont Legislature coming back into session today and after another summer with beach closures and fish kills in Lake Champlain, as well as rivers across the state still recovering from the natural and manmade ravages that followed Tropical Storm Irene, our growing coalition felt that today was an important day to ensure that renewed investment in Clean Water is on the mind of lawmakers.

If you find yourself nodding your head in agreement as you read the resolution, be sure to contact your legislator and voice your support for clean water. Or, if you’re not yet signed up for our e-newsletter, do so now – we’ll keep you informed of updates across the region as they happen.

Here is an excerpt from the resolution:

WHEREAS, clean water is essential to Vermonters’ personal health and the health of our economy and Vermont’s environment; and

 WHEREAS, clean water is critical to ensure healthy habitats vital to the protection and restoration of indigenous species and the protection of all flora and fauna throughout the food web; and

WHEREAS, significant progress to restore and protect our water resources has been made since the passage of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act; and

WHEREAS, compromised and impaired waters still exist, and unimpaired waters remain largely unprotected, threatening our quality of life and our economy while public sector investment in protecting water quality continues to shrink, leaving forty years of environmental gains since the passage of the Clean Water Act hanging in the balance; and

WHEREAS, protecting the Vermont brand built on a reputation for protecting its unsurpassed environmental health from degradation is essential for the continued success of all business sectors relying on this crucial market distinction; and

WHEREAS, outdoor recreation, in particular water-based recreation, is a vital aspect of our state identity and a major pursuit among Vermonters and visitors, alike; and

WHEREAS, polluted waters are not accessible waters, do not support aquatic life, and, worse, imperil public health; and

WHEREAS, outdated treatment technologies, aging pipes and pumps, and inadequate capacity undermine our ability to treat sewage, stormwater, and drinking water; and

WHEREAS, in the opinion of leading professionals within numerous disciplines, infrastructure is inadequately funded in Vermont to meet current and future requirements; and

WHEREAS, new and sustained public investment for clean water at the federal, state, and municipal levels is critical to protect this basic element of public health and a vibrant, sustainable economy; and

WHEREAS, it is our legal and moral obligation, as well as an ethical imperative, to ensure that the same quality of life enjoyed by the current generation is possible for the next.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the undersigned concerned citizens and organizations urge that our state and local elected officials and policymakers:

1. Expeditiously adopt new, equitable, targeted fees and dedicated, broad-based revenue mechanisms; and

2. Sustainably invest these revenues statewide into water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure, and all other manner of water resources protection and water pollution remediation.

Like many other states across the nation, and similar experiences in other New England states, Vermont had its first trial by fire with the expanded influence of “Super PACs.” In fact, one super PAC, Vermonters First, poured more than $1 million into several Vermont political races and issues. The right-leaning PAC was almost entirely funded by one person described by VT Digger as “a wealthy and somewhat reclusive Burlington woman named Lenore Broughton, who in just a few months has made herself the most influential Republican in the state.”

Vermonters First promoted a limited government message in several statewide races including the hotly contested races for state treasurer and auditor. In the race for treasurer, Vermonters First poured over $100,000 into television and radio commercials attacking Democratic incumbent Beth Pearce. Similarly, the Super PAC promoted the candidacy of Republican Vince Illuzi in the auditor’s race. Lastly, Vermonters First weighed in heavily in opposition to Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger’s effort to pass a “Fiscal Stability Bond” to stabilize the city’s finances including restoring the city’s ability to proceed with long-delayed, major water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades.

In the end, this unprecedented influx of seemingly limitless cash didn’t carry the day. (According to The Washington Post, this is true not just in VT, but across the US.) Beth Pearce was reelected to the Treasurer’s post, Vince Illuzi was defeated for Auditor, and the Burlington bond vote was handily passed.

‘‘You can spend a lot of loot. You can buy a lot of those out-of-state ads,’’ said Gov. Peter Shumlin in this AP story, who easily won re-election on Tuesday. ‘‘But in the end, Vermonters judge you by who you are, what you stand for and whether they meet you, whether you knock on their door, whether they look you in the eye and decide whether your character and your vision is the right thing for Vermont.’’

After looking the candidates in the eye, Vermonters confirmed their commitment to a government that plays an important role in making our communities and state livable and sustainable. Vermonters don’t want a flood of money in their politics, they want further preparations against future floods – they want a safe, stable and thriving state.

After breathing a sigh of relief, Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) will be pressing our elected leaders to solve the state’s major environmental issues including cleaning up Lake Champlain, protecting our public lands, embracing a sustainable and efficient energy future, and prioritizing livable communities.

We look to our elected leaders to lead on the most pressing environmental issues of our day. Silence, like that adopted at the national level during the campaign, will not be acceptable. We cannot afford further delay on issues like climate change. Now, more than ever, is the time to lead.

I love rivers.  In fact, I love all things water. And so today I’m celebrating the 40^th birthday of the Clean Water Act, perhaps America’s most effective and far-reaching environmental law.

I grew up on a farm in upstate New York and spent a lot of time stomping around in our ponds, streams, and wetlands catching frogs, listening to spring peepers, watching birds and muskrats and ermine. We fished whenever we could and had a family challenge about who would be the first in the water after ice-out in the spring and last out before (or after) the frost in the fall. We marked the seasons by the coming and going of the ice, by the water temperature in the ponds, and, in some years, watched anxiously as drought lowered water levels and put our water supplies at risk. All of this has led to a connection to waters that has infused my life, including my professional career.

One of my earliest memories from over 40 years ago and leading to my lifetime of advocacy for clean water is of my father taking me to the Cayadutta Creek in Fonda, New York to see the stream running bright red and foul from pollution from the tanneries in Gloversville and Johnstown. I was overwhelmed by the image of the creek flowing by as a river of blood. My dad fumed that creeks and rivers all over were being poisoned by such pollution.

Cuyahoga River Burns in 1969

So it’s not a surprise that my family watched the news with outrage as America was shown the image of the Cayahoga River in Ohio literally burning in 1969. Perhaps we were told at the time that the river had burned on nine occasions in the prior 100 years. But in any case, that fire became the symbol of unacceptable water pollution for us and for millions of Americans who called on Congress for action. It helped spur the first Earth Day in 1970, and thankfully, it contributed to the political urgency for passage of the Clean Water Act on October 18^th 1972, 40 years ago today.

Passage of the Clean Water Act by the United States Congress marked the end of an amazing political process. On this day 40 years ago with strong, bi-partisan votes in the House (247 yes and 23 no (with 160 not voting)) and Senate (52 to 12 (with 36 not voting)), Congress overrode the wrongheaded veto of the law by President Nixon. Many members of Congress from both parties voted yes, but just as significant were those that didn’t vote. By consciously withdrawing from the debate, many Republicans heeded the voices of their constituents, defied a President of their own party, and allowed the override votes to succeed.

What has been the result of this historic event? The Clean Water Act became law and much of the severe industrial and sewage pollution of our precious waters has been brought in check. The Cayadutta Creek no longer runs blood red, and the Cuyahoga has recovered to the point that it won’t catch fire. That is a 40^th birthday present that we all can enjoy.

But, it also raises the question: if the Cuyahoga were burning today, could we pass the Clean Water Act?

I like to think that Americans would pull together again and demand action. However, the reality is that we are now living with “dead zones” that are threatening our communities and industries in Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, on Cape Cod, and in Lake Champlain. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico ranges from 6-7000 square miles – bigger than the State of Connecticut! This is the result of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution that is pouring into our waters from agriculture, lawn fertilizing, excessive development, and sewage discharges.

Blue-Green Algae Fouls Lake Champlain 2011

And, just two years ago, we all watched with horror, as the Gulf burned from the BP oil spill.

So, this 40^th birthday of the Clean Water Act should also serve as a reminder to us all that clean water is as important now as it ever has been and there is still much more to do.

Here at CLF, we have a long legacy of fighting for clean water across New England. CLF filed the Federal Court lawsuit that led to a clean Boston Harbor. We have held numerous polluters accountable for discharges into New England’s waterways. We stopped oil and gas drilling off of New England’s coasts.

Today, we are fighting to protect waters from nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from Cape Cod to the Charles River, New Hampshire’s Great Bay to Long Island Sound, and from Narragansett Bay to Lake Champlain.  We are working with cities and towns to create green infrastructure that cleans up stormwater pollution and beautifies our communities.  All of our efforts are possible because of Congress’s action 40 years ago today.

Happy 40^th Birthday Clean Water Act!

A bloom of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, on Lake Champlain's Missisquoi Bay in 2011

If the weather during the rest of the summer remains hot and calm, this year may well be remembered as one of the worst for blue-green algae bloom in recent memory on Lake Champlain. That is too bad, because it means days of ruined beach visits, vacations when kids can’t go in the water and declines in income for lakeside businesses. But it could also cause a shift in attitude about what lake phosphorus pollution means, and how serious we are about dealing with it. And that would be a good result from a bad situation.

One of the interesting things about blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria as they are more accurately known, is that, unlike an invasive species or pollution by hazardous materials, they are normal inhabitants of land and water – and are nearly ubiquitous in some places. They become a problem, and a major one, when we cause the ecosystem to be out of balance. Otherwise, we would rarely think about them.

How do blue-geen algae become a problem? Under certain conditions, cyanobacteria explode into massive blooms. During the early stages of such a bloom, they look like pollen in the water and are easy to ignore. But as their volume increases, the blue-green algae can become a thick, paint-like mass that stacks up into white, blue and green froths, choking waterways, blocking sunlight, and, when they decompose, reducing the amount of oxygen in the water to dangerously low levels. Those conditions cause massive die-offs of fish and shellfish – and stinking piles of rotting algae along the shoreline.

Beyond all these problems, in such large volumes the cyanobacteria at times produce toxins which can sicken people and kill pets. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, before people were familiar with the dangers of cyanobacteria blooms, dogs died from ingesting those toxins. In other parts of the country, people have become very sick as well, including U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member James Inhofe, who became ill in 2011 after he went swimming back in his district in Oklahoma. Inhofe, well-known for his opposition to much anti-pollution legislation, joked that the news story about his experience should bear the headline “the environment strikes back.”

So far this year, few blooms on Lake Champlain have reached the dense stage of development where they test positive for cyanotoxins. But parts of the lake that do not often have such blooms are now seeing cyanobacteria. Last year’s flooding from tropical storm Irene dumped record loads of phosphorus into Lake Champlain tributaries, providing the nutrients needed for blue-green algae populations to explode. And this dry, hot, calm summer has provided the right conditions for that population explosion to happen.

If people from those lake areas that are experiencing unprecedented blue-green blooms get together with those from other places – like St. Albans Bay and Missisquoi Bay where such blooms are almost yearly occurrences – we may be able to chart a different path and keep such problems from spreading any further.

With better farm management techniques, improved urban runoff systems and up-to-date sewage plants, we can prevent the otherwise inevitable spread of cyanobacteria to more places on Lake Champlain. If we can make that happen, this summer might go down in the books as not just the worst blue-green summer, but the summer in which things began to change for the better.

There are some things that you cannot capture adequately in words alone. The impact of nutrient pollution on fresh water bodies like Lake Champlain is one.

A nutrient overload fuels a toxic algae bloom on the surface of Mississquoi Bay making the water unsafe for swimming and unpleasant to be around.

Photo by Lake Champlain Lakekeeper Louis Porter

That is why the Emmy-award winning film “Bloom: The Plight of Lake Champlain” was such an important development in the effort to raise awareness of the Lake’s problems and the urgent need for action. Christopher Kilian, Director of CLF’s Vermont office and its regional Clean Waters and Healthy Forest program, was featured in that documentary, which was narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Chris Cooper. You can watch a clip with Chris Kilian from the first Bloom here.

Tonight marks the premiere of the Bloom sequels–a series of three related short programs also narrated by Chris Cooper under the title “The Emergence of Ecological Design.” Each film focuses on one of the major causes of pollution to the Lake—agricultural discharges, urban runoff (aka stormwater), and sewage treatment—and highlights emerging solutions for each.  Because CLF’s Clean Water and Healthy Forest program is driving solutions to all of those problems, CLF clean water advocate Anthony Iarrapino (that’s me) appears in all three.

Tonight’s premiere screening is free and open to the public starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Palace 9 Theaters in South Burlington.  If you can’t make the show on the big screen, look for Bloom: The Emergence of Ecological Design on Vermont Public Television over the coming months.  You can also buy DVDs from the producers at BrightBlue Media at their website www.bloomthemovie.org where you will find clips of the new films.

Starting tomorrow, those concerned about Lake Champlain and interested in helping outline how to deal with nutrient pollution threatening its future will have a chance to make their opinions heard.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with the help of Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation, is in the process of re-writing the Lake Champlain Phosphorous Total Maximum Daily Load. This effort must be successful if we are to reduce phosphorous pollution to our great lake and keep one of Vermont’s most important resources swimmable, fishable and drinkable.

As you may know, the TMDL is an important technical document which acts as a phosphorous pollution budget so Vermonters can plan for reducing how much phosphorous we ask Lake Champlain to handle. We currently add much more phosphorous – well over twice as much in some years – than is safe for the lake ecosystem. The result, excess weed growth, potentially toxic blue-green algae blooms and low dissolved oxygen, makes the lake less usable. And those problems are likely to become more widespread, particularly with two floods of historic proportion this year.

Thanks to the work of Conservation Law Foundation, the EPA ruled earlier this year that the TMDL approved in 2002 was not adequate to truly protect and restore Lake Champlain. Now federal and state authorities have organized a set of public meetings to help in reworking the TMDL which will take place over the next week and will be focused on the northern portion of the Lake Champlain basin. A second set of meetings focused on the southern portion of the lake is scheduled for November 14th through November 18thand I will send you more details when they are finalized.

As you can see from the schedule below, the first set of meetings are roughly organized by sector of interest. Given that a draft of the new TMDL is still in the works, I expect the topics covered during these conversations will be quite broad and include questions of funding, how to structure the TMDL and possible barriers to implementing it. I encourage you to attend one of them if you are at all interested in learning more, and especially if you have concerns or thoughts about the way this issue has been addressed and how it will be addressed in the future.

I plan on going to most of these meetings and will be taking notes, so if you are interested in the subject but cannot attend one of the meetings I am happy to provide you with my unofficial minutes of those I have attended (lporter@clf.org).

You can file written comments if you are unable to attend and the state has asked that, if possible, you let them know if you are planning on going to one of the meetings so they can make sure the rooms are large enough. Both can be sent to Michaela Stickney, VTDEC Lake Champlain Basin Coordinator, michaela.stickney@state.vt.us.

The EPA’s disapproval decision finding that the 2002 TMDL is inadequate can be found here:

http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/tmdl/pdfs/vt/LakeChamplainTMDLDisapprovalDecision.pdf

Vermont’s revised implementation plan for the TMDL can be found here:

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/cleanandclear/news/TMDL%20impl%20plan%20final%20-%20011510.pdf

The Lake Champlain Basin Program’s State of the Lake Report, which includes information on Phosphorous loads, can be found here:

http://www.lcbp.org/lcstate.htm

1.       Tuesday October 4, 10am – 12pm
Agricultural Sector
Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District (NRCD)

617 Comstock Rd, Suite 1
Berlin, VT

Phone: (802) 828-4493 Ext. 113
► (meet in the UVM Extension conference room in the complex)

 2.       Tuesday October 4, 3-5pm
Northern Municipality Sector
Northwest Regional Planning Commission (NRPC)

155 Lake Street
St. Albans, VT

(802) 524-5958
► (meet at NRPC offices)

3.       Wednesday October 5, 11:30am-1:30pm 
Business Sector
Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce & Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation

60 Main Street, #100
Burlington, VT
(802) 863-3489

► (meet at LCRCOC offices)
4.       Wednesday October 5, 5:30-7:30pm
Nonprofit/Mid-lake Watershed Group Sector
ECHO/Leahy Center

1 College St.
Burlington, VT

(802) 864-1848
► (meet in Alcove upstairs)

5.       Thursday October 6, 10am-12pm
Northern Lake Committee Sector
Lake Champlain Basin Program
54 West Shore Rd.

Grand Isle, VT

(802) 372-3213
► (meet at LCBP offices)

6.       Thursday October 6, 2-4pm
Stormwater/Urban Sector
Shelburne Town Offices

5420 Shelburne Road

Shelburne, VT

(802) 985-5110
► (meet at Shelburne Town Offices)

Last night, I sought refuge from the oppressive heat by taking a long swim in the cool, clean water of our local lake.  Families and young children packed the shallows where they found relief from record-breaking temperatures.  Floating along in this happy summer scene, I could not help but think of how fortunate we are to live in a country where our laws recognize that our happiness, our safety, and our economy depend on our ability to keep our water clean.

Thanks to the Clean Water Act, many waters are safe for swimming. Call your Senators to let them know you support this important law and want to ensure that all of our waters are safe for swimming, drinking, and fishing before it's too late.

In many places across the nation, the freedom to swim safely on a hot summer day was only a dream a generation ago when raw sewage and industrial pollution choked our nation’s waters.  Without the pollution controls and infrastructure investments required by the Clean Water Act and the work of groups like CLF to ensure that the law was being followed over the last forty years, water that is “drinkable, fishable, and swimmable” would still be beyond the reach of most Americans. Yet there remain many rivers, lakes, and bays from New England to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond where the Clean Water Act’s promise of water safe for recreation, drinking, and wildlife conservation have yet to be fulfilled.

POLLUTION CAN MAKE YOU “DEATHLY SICK”

Earlier this month, Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe–one of the most anti-environmental members of Congress–received a stark reminder of how the dream of a swim on a hot summer day can quickly become a nightmare when we don’t have enough clean water.  Inhofe reported getting “deathly sick” from an upper respiratory illness he contracted when he swam in Oklahoma’s Grand Lake during a recent blue-green algae bloom caused by the combination of excess pollution and extreme heat. Fortunately, his 13 year-old granddaughter had the good sense not to join him in the illness-inducing swim.

Despite searing heat, swimmers stayed out of the slime-coated waters of Lake Champlain's St. Albans Bay most of last summer. Earlier this month, the Vermont Health Department warned swimmers about blue-green algae blooms that have appeared in the Bay again this summer.

From Vermont’s Lake Champlain to Cape Cod to Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay and in many lakes, rivers, and streams along the way, pollution from poorly-treated human waste and dirty runoff from streets, parking lots, and agricultural operations is feeding the growth of harmful blue-green algae of the sort that made Senator Inhofe feel “deathly sick.”  Added runoff from extreme rainfall events and hotter temperatures caused by global warming, will require even stronger clean water restoration and protection measures as we adapt in a changed climate.

THE CLEAN WATER ACT IS UNDER ATTACK

Sadly, some in Congress are attacking the EPA and the Clean Water Act, cynically attempting to free polluters of accountability under the false claim that pollution control is bad for the economy.  Click here to read about some of the “dirty water” bills being pushed through Congress by the Tea Party and some powerful Democrats who are in the pocket of the coal companies.

Twenty-eight years ago, the heavily-polluted Boston Harbor beaches were the poster children for the unfulfilled goals of the Clean Water Act.  Using enforcement tools under the Clean Water Act, CLF and U.S. EPA forced the beginning of a cleanup effort that many an overheated Bostonian can be grateful for as they head to the water this summer. The tremendous economic development that has occurred on the Boston waterfront as the water became cleaner is powerful proof that the Clean Water Act is a responsible and balanced tool for achieving many of society’s goals.  CLF and EPA are continuing the work under the Clean Water Act to ensure that Boston Harbor beaches remain safe for swimming and that citizens in upstream communities along the Charles, Mystic, and Neponset Rivers enjoy the same freedom to boat and swim without fear of becoming sick from pollution.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

As the U.S. Senate starts to consider the “dirty water” bills coming from the House, Senators are faced with a clear choice.  You can make a difference by calling or emailing your Senator and urging them to reject attempts to gut the Clean Water Act and weaken the EPA. Click here to find the phone number or email address for your Senator.  Join CLF in speaking up for clean water before it’s too late. 

Over the last several months the documentary Bloom: The Plight of Lake Champlain has been shown to capacity audiences around Vermont, from the State House to the Echo Lake Aquarium and Science Center.

Now the movie, which powerfully brings home the effect of too much phosphorous pollution on Lake Champlain, will be part of the Green Mountain Film Festival in Vermont.

Bloom, which features CLF Vermont Director Chris Kilian, will be shown at Montpelier’s Pavilion Auditorium at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 24^th and will be followed by a panel discussion which will include CLF Lake Champlain Lakekeeper Louis Porter.

The documentary combines narration, interviews and footage to convey both the severity and significance of the problem of uncontrolled algae and weed growth in Lake Champlain, and the need to quickly find effective solutions.

Bloom: The Plight of Lake Champlain
Thursday, March 24, 6:15 p.m.
Pavilion Auditorium
Montpelier, Vt.

MONTPELIER, VT January 24, 2010 – The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has issued the following statement in response to today’s decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its approval of Vermont’s 2002 water quality plan for Lake Champlain. The decision comes almost two years after CLF first challenged EPA’s approval of the Plan in federal court.

“Today’s decision by the EPA to re-examine Vermont’s water quality plan for Lake Champlain is the key to bringing the Lake back to health,” said Louis Porter, CLF’s Lake Champlain Lakekeeper. “The EPA has reviewed the existing pollution budget and concluded, correctly, that there has not been enough improvement in the health of Lake Champlain under the current plan. Now, with a new administration in Vermont and a new water quality plan on the way, Vermont can begin a new, science-based approach to cleaning up Lake Champlain and making sure it remains a safe and enjoyable resource for swimmers, boaters, anglers, and the more than 200,000 people for whom it provides drinking water.” More >