Just six weeks after state officials said taking the final step in a Lake Champlain cleanup plan by Sept. 4 was “not feasible” for Vermont, the state has changed course, and issued the last permit requirement for the plan.
The Three Acre Stormwater General Permit requires landowners with more than 3 acres of “impervious surfaces” — roofs, driveways, parking lots and the like — to undertake projects to treat water runoff, removing phosphorus, sediment, and other pollutants before it enters the lake.
The permit requirement was issued on Tuesday by the Department of Environmental Conservation, fulfilling the last Phase One milestone for the cleanup project.
The department’s flip-flop follows a June 25 letter from Regional EPA Director Dennis Deziel to Peter Walke, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, informing him that, without the permit requirement, the state would receive a failing grade from the agency.
“The idea being out of compliance with the EPA was not something that we relished,” Walke said.
On Tuesday, that fear became moot. The EPA issued a statement saying it’s “very pleased” with Vermont’s decision to issue the permit requirement, and offered assistance if Vermont needs it to make the program work.
“We’ve heard from the EPA already; they plan to send us a fully passing grade, with an all-green report card,” Walke said.
Walke said his agency’s concern was never that the permit requirement itself couldn’t be issued in time, but that enough support wouldn’t be in place to ensure that Vermonters could actually comply with the new requirements.
He said the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic raised concerns that the permit would impose too big of a financial burden on already-struggling Vermonters. He said the Department of Environmental Conservation wanted to have a full funding and financing plan before the requirement was rolled out.
But this week, Walke said the agency thought enough progress had been made to adopt the permit ahead of the Sept. 4 deadline.
The Three-Acre Permit is a requirement under Act 64, Vermont’s Clean Water Act. After the state law passed, the EPA issued an order in 2016 setting phosphorus reduction targets for Lake Champlain called a Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL for short.
In April 2018, the EPA gave Vermont a “provisional pass” for its TMDL phase one compliance, with all but three of 28 milestones already achieved. But two years later, the state had yet to adopt the final goal: a stormwater runoff permit program for properties with 3 or more acres of impervious surfaces.
Runoff from developed lands make up about 18% of Vermont’s portion of Lake Champlain phosphorus pollution. Agriculture is the biggest individual source of phosphorus in the lake, but developed land contributes twice as much phosphorus per square mile.
Earlier this year, when the Department of Environmental Conservation asked for public feedback on the 3-acre rule, it received a number of requests for more time to prepare, Walke said, so the permit application process was revised.
Beginning this December, and lasting through early 2023, landowners will have 18 months to complete an engineering analysis to determine the “best-fit” stormwater system to filter, store or soak up runoff on their property. Once each stormwater system plan is approved, landowners will have five years to install the new systems.
The department will offer technical and financial aid to landowners to support the engineering design and installation of the projects. It plans to pair resources from the Clean Water Fund and the State Revolving Fund to offer cost-share to landowners, with up to $2 million available for the current fiscal year.
“We understand that this is an incredibly heavy lift for landowners in this moment of economic uncertainty,” Walke said. “We’re very conscious of that, and we want to help people be able to comply and get the phosphorus reductions they need.”
