A legislative panel has approved new rules designed to maintain Vermont’s water quality.
The rules set new limits on the amount of Escherichia coli bacteria, or E. coli, phosphorus, chloride, and toxic chemicals in Vermont’s waters.
The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules unanimously supported the new rules, which must still be finalized and then approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Certain land use and development activities that require permits will have to meet the new standards.The rules apply to all water bodies except artificial bodies such as snowmaking ponds, or temporary puddles.
The standards are designed to protect water quality, aquatic biota, wildlife, and plant life, and limit pollution. They aim to provide clear enforcement standards while allowing environmentally sound development, recreation and agriculture.
The new rules set limits on the amount of nutrient pollution in Vermont’s waters, including phosphorus concentration levels for each section of Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog.
Phosphorus and nitrogen pollution have gained heightened attention because of blue-green algae blooms in Lake Champlain. These nutrients are present in agricultural fertilizer, sewage effluent and stormwater runoff — all of which wash into Vermont’s waterways when it rains.
The new rules will have the largest impact on wastewater treatment centers that discharge waste into small streams, according to the Agency of Natural Resources economic impact statement on the rules.
Some facilities may have to increase water quality monitoring efforts, the agency said. Those that violate water quality permits may need to purchase new technology at the expense of ratepayers.
Under the new rules, the state sets nutrient concentration limits for streams. If a limit is exceeded, the state would then monitor the biological health of the stream to determine what exact concentration limit is necessary.
EPA responded to the proposed rules and recommended the state enhance its monitoring by measuring plants and microorganisms as indicators for nutrient concentrations. The department replied the state does not have enough data to develop appropriate criteria for measuring these indicators.
Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner David Mears said a uniform standard in Vermont may not be protective enough in certain locations, and perhaps overburdensome in others
“It’s hard to adopt a numeric standard for phosphorus because every stream is different in terms of its ability to tolerate nutrients,” he said.
The state does not set concentrations limit for nitrogen. The state can link the impact of phosphorous on water quality, but the relationship with nitrogen is much looser, according to Neil Kamman, of DEC’s Watershed Management Division.
The state also adopted limits on the amount of a seemingly harmless chemical: salt. While not harmful to human health, chloride can harm aquatic organisms. It can enter surface water and groundwater after it’s used to de-ice roads and parking lots.
The state says it is not trying to eliminate de-icing salts, but rather manage their use. This includes using of brine or other alternatives, or management practices to eliminate dual applications. The state said it will monitor chloride closely in developed areas near small streams.
Kamman said a relatively small number of streams in the state have surface concentrations of chloride approaching the new limit. He said no lakes have neared the chloride concentration limits, and it would be “alarming” if they had.
The new chloride limits could increase costs for public and private salt applicators, the agency’s economic impact statement says. The costs include new equipment, record-keeping, and changes in application procedures.
The E. coli standards now align with federal rules, the agency said. The new rules will reduce the number of beach closures associated with “flawed” measurements of E. coli concentrations.
The Connecticut River Watershed Council said in a comment to the agency that the rules should go further to limit thermal discharge. The Council has expressed concerns about thermal discharges from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. The group said Vermont should adopt permit conditions with thermal discharge limits to protect shellfish, fish, and wildlife populations.
The department replied the rules would be premature because the rules were not discussed during the pre-rulemaking stakeholder outreach process
Federal regulations under the Clean Water Act require the state to adopt these standards and review them every three years. The state has made minor tweaks to the standards, but since 2000, the state has not developed new concentration limits for certain pollutnts.
