“Vermonters deserve a safe Lake Champlain, and the state must drastically improve its clean-up efforts,” said CLF Lake Champlain Lakekeeper Rebekah Weber. “Toxic blue-green algae threatens both the health of the lake and the people who enjoy it. Our elected officials must pass legislation that invests in this iconic resource.”
The Conservation Law Foundation has given the state of Vermont a D+ for poor progress toward a cleanup of Lake Champlain. Issuing its annual Lake Champlain Report Card on Monday, the environmental watchdog said, “The near-failing grade is the result of a consistent pattern of missed deadlines, weak treatment standards and a lack of investment in clean-up programs.”
Vermont’s rivers and lakes are not healthy. Toxic cyanobacteria plague our waters year after year threatening the health of people, wildlife, and our economy. Too often throughout the summer, signs are posted at public beaches warning families to stay out of the water. This is an annoyance for the parents who heed the warnings, scary… Continue reading Lake Champlain Report Card: State Gets a D+ for Its Clean-up Efforts
In this special issue of Conservation Matters, we want to take you behind the scenes of our work, to give you a glimpse into how we break down challenges and take advantage of opportunities to create a healthy, thriving New England – not just for today, but for generations to come.
No one would consider swimming, sailing, or fishing in a sewer, but that, in effect, is the choice facing people seeking to use polluted bays around Cape Cod. The Cape’s septic systems cause 85 percent of the nitrogen pollution plaguing our waterways. Every time a toilet flushes into a septic tank, our clean bays, our… Continue reading Help for Cape Cod’s Pollution Problem
If there’s one thing that most Vermonters can agree on, it’s that Lake Champlain is in trouble. The iconic lake is central to Vermont’s identity and its tourism economy. It provides drinking water and feeds thirsty farms throughout its large watershed. It’s also dying a slow death due to unchecked pollution. How to stop that… Continue reading Saving Lake Champlain
Once again, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration are taking aim at one of our most vital and effective environmental laws. On February 20, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a public notice asking for comments on the Clean Water Act’s coverage of pollution that enters our nation’s lakes, rivers, and oceans via groundwater.
A summer of horrific blue-green algae outbreaks, particularly in Lake Carmi and along the shores of Lake Champlain, has many Vermont state legislators turning to the question of enforcement of our environmental laws. The fact is, we have protective laws on the books, but without enforcement, our water will remain polluted, threatening the health of… Continue reading Vermont Legislators Debate Enforcement of Clean Water Laws
“Fort Devens should be setting the gold standard for building a thriving, ecologically sound community from the ground up,” said Christopher Kilian, Director of CLF’s Clean Energy and Healthy Forests program. “Instead, these developers are putting neighbors at risk by allowing unrestricted, unpermitted pollution into the already-distressed Nashua River. It’s time to make Fort Devens a key feature of this vital river’s road to recovery rather than a barrier in its way.”
We are faced with a federal administration that wants not only to halt decades of hard-fought progress on clean water but reverse them altogether. But today, the impacts on our public health from blue-green algae outbreaks and chemical pollution are as serious and urgent as ever. We cannot and will not stop fighting for clean water as a fundamental right for all Americans.
