Editor’s note: This commentary is by Lauren Hierl, who is executive director of Vermont Conservation Voters. This commentary has been signed by Vermont Conservation Voters, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Audubon Vermont, Lake Champlain Committee, The Nature Conservancy in Vermont, Connecticut River Conservancy, and Conservation Law Foundation.
Our organizations have advocated for years for a robust, long-term state investment in clean water, and we were pleased to see notable progress this legislative session.
Investing in clean water is essential to Vermonters’ health, our economy, and our quality of life. Unfortunately, numerous Vermont rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds across the state are polluted. This pollution has many negative effects including cyanobacteria blooms, beach closures, loss of property value, loss of fish habitat, and damage to our outdoor recreation and tourism economies.
In addition to cleaning up polluted waters, clean water investments are needed to protect and restore Vermont’s waters and prevent our waters from becoming further degraded. Special swimming holes and fishing spots are vital to Vermont communities, and a main reason why people want to live in and visit our beautiful state. Vermont and federal laws require that waters that meet or exceed water quality standards be protected.
Reports from the Vermont treasurer and the Agency of Natural Resources estimate the cost of clean water obligations of at least $115 million-$156 million per year. While some of those costs will be covered by other sources, we have supported the state treasurer’s 2017 recommendation of an initial minimum state investment of an additional $25 million per year, beyond what was previously provided to pay for clean water efforts in Vermont. This initial level of new funding is necessary to meet our legal obligations to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the moral and economic imperative to achieve clean water.
We appreciate House Speaker Mitzi Johnson and Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe’s ongoing commitment to clean water funding this year. We were also pleased to see the Scott administration working collaboratively with the Legislature to craft a plan to invest clean water dollars in projects across the state.
The clean water bill (S.96) recently signed into law dedicates about $7.3 million in new clean water funding for the upcoming fiscal year, and creates an ongoing revenue stream of about $12 million per year once it’s fully implemented. This revenue stream is derived from the existing rooms and meals tax. The Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office estimates that with recent federal changes to tax laws, the state can anticipate increased revenue of about $10 million-15 million per year, which would cover the redirected funds. When added to the approximately $7 million in funding dedicated to clean water over the last few years, Vermont should come close to meeting the minimum clean water funding target of $25 million per year recommended by Treasurer Beth Pearce.
While we are quite pleased to see new, dedicated revenue going to the clean water fund, we will of course remain vigilant to ensure this funding mechanism is sufficient to meet our clean water needs, does not create a hole in the budget in future years that shortchanges other important state programs, and is not redirected to other priorities when there is a downturn in the economy.
At the beginning of the session, we called on the Legislature to enact clean water funding in a manner that meets certain principles. We advocated that the funding source must be stable and sufficient to meet clean water needs, and must be reliable from year to year to support ongoing, consistent clean water efforts. Funding must also be flexible in terms of its use, to meet the full and evolving scope of clean water needs across the state, including restoring our degraded waters and protecting our rivers and lakes from future degradation.
Ultimately, the clean water bill (S.96) enacted by the Legislature, and signed by the governor, meets many of these principles. It significantly increases the resources available for clean water projects across the state, both for restoring degraded waters and protecting existing water quality elsewhere. It creates a new regional distribution model that requires local input and coordination. The bill also creates more transparency and accountability to ensure taxpayer dollars are being wisely invested in projects that will help us achieve our clean water goals. We appreciate numerous committees’ hard work on these issues, with important leadership from House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, and Committee Chairs Amy Sheldon and Janet Ancel; as well as Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, and Committee Chairs Chris Bray and Ann Cummings.
We appreciate that Vermont lawmakers of all political stripes supported clean water funding, with overwhelming votes in support of the bill in both the House and Senate. While we will continue to advocate for more dedicated revenue for clean water, this year our elected officials took a significant, positive step forward in meeting our long-term funding needs. Now, we can get to work implementing clean water projects across the state, as we strive to ensure all Vermont’s lakes, ponds, rivers and streams are clean, safe, and healthy.
