Excess phosphorus pollution fuels toxic algae (cyanobacteria) outbreaks that can shut down beaches and harm people, pets, and wildlife. Photo: CLF
May 29, 2026 (Montpelier, VT) – Vermont’s legislature has passed S.323, a bill that makes permanent a collaborative stakeholder group that brings together farmers, environmental organizations, and technical service providers to improve agricultural water quality, permitting, and regulation. The legislature’s action coincides with a recent report from the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) and the Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets (AAFM) that acknowledges the need to reform the state’s broken regulatory system but fails to confront the root cause that undermines Vermont’s water quality: the jurisdictional split between the agencies.
“Farmers, technical service providers, and environmental groups agree that they need to work together to ensure meaningful reform at ANR and AAFM,” said Scott Sanderson, director of Conservation Law Foundation’s Farm and Food Initiative. “This legislation matters because Vermonters deserve real progress, not more half steps while farmers navigate a broken program and pollution continues to threaten our lakes, rivers, and communities. For too long, the system has struggled with conflict between agencies, confusion over responsibility, and a lack of accountability. We need meaningful reform that delivers measurable results because all Vermonters deserve clean water.”
Vermont’s waters, including Lake Champlain, continue to be harmed by phosphorus, pesticides, and other pollutants from farms, which contribute to recurring toxic algal blooms and declining water quality.
A stakeholder group was formed in 2025 after CLF, in partnership with Vermont Natural Resources Council and Lake Champlain Committee, documented Vermont’s failures to regulate farm pollution and in 2022 asked the Environmental Protection Agency to intervene. EPA then launched an investigation and in 2024 issued a letter finding that Vermont does not adequately regulate farm pollution under the federal Clean Water Act. The agency directed the state to develop a plan to establish a regulatory system run exclusively by ANR.
The stakeholder group made significant progress and developed recommendations to improve how Vermont implements the Clean Water Act on farms. Farmers, technical service providers, and environmentalists all believe that Vermont needs a fair, predicable regulatory system and that the current system does not deliver for farmers or the environment.
S.323 builds on that work by implementing two of the stakeholder group’s recommendations. It creates a permanent working group to provide advice and recommendations on the implementation of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permitting program in Vermont, and it requires ANR to hire a consultant who will help develop farm inspection procedures, train ANR and AAFM inspectors, and accompany ANR and AAFM on inspections.
“It was heartening to meet face to face with farmers through the initial stakeholder group this year, and to talk about regulatory approaches that will be practical and workable for farmers, while also protecting water quality,” said Jenny Patterson, Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC). “LCC applauds the creation of a permanent stakeholder group that will be co-chaired by a livestock farmer and a representative of the environmental advocate community, and that will provide ongoing feedback as Vermont transitions to a new system of managing farm-based pollution while also creating clarity and predictability for farmers.”
The contrast between the bill’s oversight measures and the agencies’ report reflects a broader choice for Vermont: whether to pursue meaningful reform and measurable outcomes or continue relying on systems that have not delivered the water quality improvements Vermonters expect.
Experts are available for further comment.
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