Environmentalists Cite Travel Warning Urge Vermont Leaders to Clean Up Lake Champlain And Abandon Efforts to Weaken Environmental Laws

CONTACT:
Christopher Kilian (CLF), 802-223-5992
Caitlin Inglehart (CLF), (617) 850-1755

Montpelier, VT (February 11, 2009) – The Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont Natural Resources Council, and Vermont League of Conservation Voters today cited the New York Times bestselling travel guide “Don’t Go There!” by Peter Greenberg to call on lawmakers and the Governor to take immediate action to implement clean up measures for Lake Champlain and to abandon consideration of proposals that would weaken environmental laws in the name of economic stimulus.

The travel guide, written by Today Show Travel Editor Peter Greenberg, was published two months ago and has already sold over 1,000,000 copies. The guide lists Lake Champlain as one of the top locations to avoid due to persistent water pollution problems. The groups are decrying pollution of Lake Champlain that has led to such a damaging travel warning from such a trusted source.

Greenberg’s dire travel warning is of great concern since tourism is Vermont ’s top economic sector. The book’s depiction of the lake’s polluted condition exposes Vermont ’s dirtiest secret – Lake Champlain is polluted and is not getting better. The Governor and legislative leaders need to take immediate, effective action to offset the impacts of this travel warning and restore Vermont ’s good name.

Lake Champlain is worth billions of dollars to Vermont’s economic health” said Christopher Kilian of the Conservation Law Foundation. “It is a travesty that Vermont ’s leaders have allowed the lake’s pollution problems to get so bad – we need immediate action to clean up the lake and protect our tourism base.”

Environmental leaders further asked that the Vermont legislature and the Governor abandon consideration of proposals to weaken Vermont ’s environmental laws. “It doesn’t make sense to roll back environmental laws when our tourism economy is at such great risk,” said Elizabeth Courtney, Executive Director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council. “The Governor says that Vermont is the greenest state in the nation, this is a good goal, but is out of touch with reality. Our leaders should stop talking about permit reform and start cleaning up the lake and protecting the natural resources that our livelihoods and tourism economy depend on.”

The Vermont Senate General Affairs committee is considering legislation that would weaken Vermont ’s environmental laws under the guise of stimulating the Vermont economy. Environmental leaders have pointed out that weakening environmental laws will harm the Vermont tourism economy further and that there has been no justification shown for the measures under consideration.

Todd Bailey, Executive Director of the Vermont League of Conservation Voters, said “Vermont leaders should be protecting our tourism economy by strengthening our environmental protections not diverting resources and attention to short-sighted efforts to weaken our environmental laws in the name of spending Vermont ’s modest portion of the Federal economic stimulus package.”

Environmentalists called on the Legislature to reconsider the Clean and Clear Program Audit conducted last year to evaluate the effectiveness of Governor Douglas’s efforts. The audit made numerous recommendations for program improvement, none of which were adopted. Specifically, the groups asked that the legislature take the following immediate clean-up actions:

* Upgrade wastewater treatments plants and their infrastructure.
* Implement Nutrient Management Plans for all farms.
* Implement all stormwater pollution budgets.
* Protect funding for land conservation programs with water quality benefits
* Implement real enforcement programs for agriculture, stormwater, and wastewater.

###

The Conservation Law Foundation (www.clf.org) works to solve the most significant environmental challenges facing New England . CLF’s advocates use law, economics and science to create innovate strategies to conserve natural resources, protect public health and promote vital communities in our region. Founded, in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , Rhode Island and Vermont .