The Agency of Natural Resources on Thursday approved the Southern Lake Champlain Tactical Basin water quality management plan.
The plan, which covers the Poultney and Mettowee Rivers and the Lower Champlain Direct tributaries, is designed to study the current health of the southern portion of the lake and determine how to improve its water quality.
“This plan culminates years of combined efforts on behalf of not only the ANR, but many important stakeholder groups,” said Ethan Swift, ANR’s supervising watershed planner, in a statement. “The cumulative actions already undertaken, or identified as priorities for ongoing work, reflect the important contributions of many citizens and citizen-based organizations, municipalities, and regional, state and federal organizations.”
The final plan can be found here. The priorities include:
• Diagnosing bacterial contamination sources in Flower Brook (a tributary to the Mettowee River);
• Mapping stormwater systems and detection of illicit discharges in several municipalities;
• Working with towns to apply for Better Backroad grants and to include protections for water erosion hazard zones and buffer zones in local zoning;
• Technical assistance and support for farmers to undertake agricultural programs designed to protect or restore surface waters.
