A Senate version of a lake shorelands protection bill passed by the Vermont House could include exemptions for small projects under new regulations.
The Agency of Natural Resources has revised the statewide standards for building along Vermont’s lakes detailed in the bill. The new regulations would apply only to lakes larger than 10 acres in size, and it creates a protected zone extending up to 250 feet from the shoreline under certain conditions.
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy reviewed the proposals last Friday. This week, the committee will mark up the bill H.526, which passed the House last year.
The ANR bill includes permit exemptions for such actions as clearing a 6-foot wide path down to the water, for projects within the existing footprint of the home, and the maintenance of existing lawns, gardens or beaches.
Larger lakeshore projects less than 100 square feet in size, such as the construction of a shed or boathouse, would require a 15-day registration.
Projects within the protected zone that do require a permit would be subject to a set of standards under the ANR revisions: no construction on a 20 percent slope; less than 40 percent of the parcel’s area can be cleared of its natural vegetative cover; and less than 20 percent of a parcel’s area can contain impervious surfaces that prevent the absorption of water runoff.
All projects are permissible as long as they fit within these flexible parameters, said David Mears, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.
“There may be some instances where there could be no development, but those should be relatively rare. For the most part, what the permit requirements will do is they will affect the placement of the building and how big it is. And those things will be dependent on some choices that the developer of the project will have,” Mears told the committee on Friday.
Choices to offset impervious cover include, for example, replacing paved driveways with water-absorbing gravel, Mears said. This would allow property owners to then expand other impervious areas of their site, he said.
Mears said the department is open to discussing ways to finance the necessary staff to police the regulations. The current bill as proposed by the House requires a $75 registration and $500 permit fee.
Mears said Vermont’s lake water quality lags behind many other Northeastern states. Part of the reason, he said, is that large houses are replacing small camps along shorelines, which disturbs natural vegetative buffers.
Under the proposal, which has drawn fire from some concerned about state overreach on property rights and regulations, the agency can override existing municipal regulations. This would prevent inconsistent shoreline regulation from town to town, proponents of the provision say.
Kim Greenwood, water program director and staff scientist for the Vermont Natural Resources Council, said any regulations should be consistent and not subject to a patchwork of municipal bylaws that allow different treatment.
“Two neighbors on the lake could have very different standards required,” she told the committee Friday. “One might meet some minimum standards, one might not. One could have very little in their municipal bylaws, the other might have something that’s progressive and robust and protective.”
Among other recommendations, the environmental advocacy group is asking that regulatory policy include a provision for an undisturbed setback from the edge of the lake.
“In our opinion, that requirement is really critical in having a basic level of protection across the state,” Greenwood said.
The Senate has another bill, S.224, it is considering that would require an Act 250 permit for building within a protected area. Sen. Diane Snelling, R-Chittenden, vice chair of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee, is the sponsor.