MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Hundreds of Vermont property owners have failed to meet a deadline aimed at keeping polluted stormwater runoff out of the state’s rivers and lakes. While farms are a big source of phosphorous in Lake Champlain, runoff from impervious surfaces like rooftops and parking lots are also big contributors. A 2015 law was aimed at addressing those non-point sources, but compliance so far has been spotty.
Thousands of families gather each August for a summertime tradition in New Haven. Addison County Fair & Field Days is a summer showcase for livestock, art, cars, music, food, and more.
“It’s like a five-day wedding with 30,000 people,” said Megan Sutton, one of the event’s board members. “Activities and things that people can participate in that you can’t find anywhere else.”
But they have a growing problem. Under a 2015 law, properties with over three acres of impervious surface have to update their stormwater systems to prevent pollution from running into rivers and streams, and ultimately causing the kind of algae blooms that have plagued Lake Champlain.
The 70-acre fairground has 16 acres of impervious surface including roofs, walkways, and the demolition derby area. And they’ll need to install a new catch basin to capture and treat stormwater.
“We’re a nonprofit that may or may not meet our budget from what comes through the gate every year and we are being asked to invest up to half a million dollars for this system,” Sutton said.
Other organizations like the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction and the Vermont State Fair in Rutland are in the same boat. Roughly 700 land parcels around Vermont are required to get new stormwater permits under the 2015 law and roughly half missed an initial application deadline last summer. The state knows that many are struggling with the cost but adds repairing damaged waterways is more expensive.
“The cost on the other end is if we don’t continue to work to turn a corner, it will only be more costly down the road,” said Kevin Burke with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. He says the state has $36 million to help with permitting and engineering. “When we see the bugs come back. And when they come back, the fish come back, it’s all very important.”
The fairgrounds say they want to comply with the law but argue they need an exemption from the regulations
“The whole goal is to have people comply but doesn’t shut them down,” said Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison County. He says the state needs to work on ways to help fund projects and adds that the stormwater regulations will pay off in the long run. “You can put serious money in year after year and you don’t see instant results because nature is a complicated system. But you can nudge it and start reducing damage.”
Officials stress that improving water quality through nonpoint sources like impervious surfaces is just one piece of the puzzle to cleaning up waterways.
