As many as 60 of Vermont’s roughly 700 public drinking water systems have detectable levels of PFAS that are below the state’s current standard but could be above a new national standard, according to state officials.
There are more than 9,000 identified types of PFAS, but Vermont regulates only five.
A proposed rule drafted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation would require that wake sports take place at least 500 feet from shore and on bodies of water that have an area of at least 50 acres and are 20 feet deep.
I know the state must try to balance recreational use. But it’s clear this one activity favored by the few precludes numerous others treasured by the many.
Under the state’s proposal, wake boats would have to stay 500 feet from shore while engaging in watersports, and could be used only on ponds and lakes that are at least 50 acres in size and at least 20 feet deep.
The principle behind the Healthy Homes Initiative is that improving water systems will not only help residents of these communities, but also improve the nearby environment.
Responsible Wakes would like to see a proposed state rule strengthened to keep wakeboats 1,000 feet from shore, which scientific research shows is the distance needed to dissipate the power of their wakes.
“We’re getting buried in our own trash,” said state Rep. Amy Sheldon, D-Middlebury.
Communities statewide are set to start a series of wastewater projects funded by federal Covid-19 relief money.
The project, funded by an $11 million federal grant, is entering its third year just as other water systems are laying the groundwork for similar efforts.
Upgrades at the Montpelier Water Resource Recovery Facility are expected to cut the city’s carbon emissions and reduce by 65% the amount of sludge the plant produces every year.
The Department of Environmental Conservation tried to “strike the balance between the necessity of waste management and the prevention and mitigation of negative environmental impacts” in its permit.
Recent EPA guidance about PFAS chemicals states that there is no known safe level of exposure for many of the bio-accumulative 9,000 PFAS chemicals.
The system is separate from another PFAS-related pilot project Casella is working on, which would take PFAS out of its leachate, the liquid waste from the landfill.