[B]URLINGTON — More than $20 million in federal funding will be heading Lake Champlain’s way in fiscal year 2019 — the highest level of annual federal funding to help pay for cleanup efforts.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced the funding Friday at Burlington’s ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, which he helped secure in his role as vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The figure has more than doubled since 2017, when the lake saw $8.3 million in federal funds.
The specific funding lines are $11 million for the EPA Lake Champlain Program, $7.25 million for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, $1 million for the Lake Champlain Sea Grant, $500,000 for the U.S. FWS Sea Lamprey Control and $1 million for the International Joint Commission Flood Study.
“I’m glad that Vermont does have a seat at the appropriations table,” Leahy said. “I daresay this money will be spent better than anywhere else in the country … and we’re doing it for the next generation. It’s not just for us.”
Last week, Gov. Phil Scott’s plan to raise $25 million annually for clean water funding through the property transfer tax, estate tax, and capital bill was given provisional approval by the EPA.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger spoke of how important Lake Champlain is to city residents, noting the November vote in which 92 percent of Burlingtonians voted in favor of making a $30 million investment in wastewater systems.
“Sometimes state and federal government can feel a long way from Burlington, Vermont and the actions taking place there may not be obvious to the average Vermonter or Burlingtonian what those impacts are on daily life,” Weinberger said. “But with this announcement, everyone should understand and think back to last summer when we suffered really our worst summer ever in terms of discharges into the lake, as a result of combined sewer overflows and equipment breaking in our sewage treatment plant.”
The boost in funding will expand programs that work toward restoration, controlling invasive species, expanding education and more.
“This is a long-term commitment, we know, that requires persistent and patient stewardship, balanced with a consistent sense of urgency,” said Julie Moore, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resource. “We know that each of the projects made possible by these funds will ultimately, collectively build fewer algal blooms, fewer combined sewer overflows, more salmon and trout, and a more resilient landscape.”
Leahy said this though the funding represents a big victory, it is something that he’s going to have to continue to fight for every year to keep money coming toward Lake Champlain.
“I’ve had the privilege many time before to announce federal funding to support our work on Lake Champlain. I kind of enjoy that about the job,” Leahy said. “But never before has the news been as good as the news I’m able to announce today.”
