Vermont Water Quality Planning Section -

How do I find out about what is happening in my watershed?
In any given watershed, there could be a wide variety of activities being carried out or sponsored by the state, by watershed associations, by schools or by other interest groups such as Trout Unlimited or solid waste districts. Streamside or streambank tree planting, water monitoring, stream channel assessment and trash removal are but a few examples of typical activities that are being performed. The Department of Environmental Conservation is coordinating water quality management efforts under the river basin planning process. Refer to the planning page and either to the specific basins and planning activities or to the planning contacts to discover which watershed areas have a DEC watershed coordinator. Another way to find out about what may be going on in your watershed is to contact a watershed group in your area. Click here (pdf, 371 KB) for a listing of watershed and lake associations.

How can I find out about the water quality conditions of a particular stream or lake?
The Planning Section, in conjunction with the Lakes & Ponds Management Section, maintains databases that contain descriptions of water quality conditions of surface waters throughout Vermont. Water quality assessment reports are being prepared for each of the seventeen river basins within Vermont. Completed basin assessment reports are available by visiting the specific basins on the Planning Section web page. Questions regarding the status of known water quality conditions can be addressed by contacting appropriate staff within these two sections. Contact the Planning Section for more information.

For persons interested in performing water quality monitoring efforts, the Watershed Management Division has produced a guide book that is intended to describe the steps of designing an appropriate monitoring program for lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands. Click here to see the Vermont Volunteer Surface Water Monitoring Guide.

For groups and organizations that have designed a monitoring program and wish to implement all or portions of the program design, the Division offers an annual competitive laboratory services assistance program. Visit the Water Quality Grant Opportunities page to learn when the assistance program is being offered.

Where can I see and print a map of Vermont's 17 river basins?
For water quality management planning purposes, Vermont has been divided into 17 fairly large hydrologic units also known as river basins. The Planning Section can make available to interested persons a map of the State of Vermont showing these 17 river basins as well as associated waterbodies. To view a map of Vermont showing the approximate extent and name of each river basin, click here.

What is 'nonpoint source pollution' and what can I do about it?
Nonpoint source pollution occurs when runoff - as rainfall or snowmelt - moves over the land surface picking up man-made or natural pollutants and then depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands and even groundwater. The main nonpoint source contaminants are sediment, bacteria, nutrients, toxic chemicals and metals. Land uses such as agriculture, forestry, construction, residential areas and septic systems are all potential nonpoint sources. Pollution from nonpoint sources is found in each of Vermont's 17 river basins.

There are a great many things people can do to reduce or prevent contributions from their daily activities. The Planning Section can provide a variety of information including how to contact other organizations involved with controlling nonpoint source pollution.

What is ‘Low Impact Development’?

According to EPA, Low Impact Development (also expressed as LID) is an approach to land development (or re-development) that works with nature to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible. LID employs principles such as preserving and recreating natural landscape features, minimizing effective imperviousness to create functional and appealing site drainage that treat stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product. There are many practices that have been used to adhere to these principles such as bio-retention facilities, rain gardens, vegetated rooftops, rain barrels, and permeable pavements. By implementing LID principles and practices, water can be managed in a way that reduces the impact of built areas and promotes the natural movement of water within an ecosystem or watershed. Applied on a broad scale, LID can maintain or restore a watershed's hydrologic and ecological functions.

Click here for EPA’s low impact development web site.
Click here for a brochure on LID developed by two regional planning commissions within Vermont (Southern Windsor County & Addison County).
Click here for LID material developed by the Vermont League of Cities & Towns.

What is the Vermont Water Resources Board and what does it do?
Before 2004, the Vermont Water Resources Board had been responsible for adopting rules followed by the Agency of Natural Resources in the management of water resources and wetlands and heard appeals of Agency of Natural Resources regulatory decisions related to these areas.

Act No. 115, passed by the Vermont Legislature in 2004, has made significant changes to the structure and functions of the Water Resources Board. As of February 1, 2005 the Water Resources Board has been replaced by the Water Resources Panel of the new Natural Resources Board. The Water Resources Board continues to hear and act upon cases that existed in their docket prior to February 1. Once all the cases have been heard and decisions issued, the Water Resources Board will be dissolved.

What is the Vermont Water Resources Panel and what does it do?
The Vermont Water Resources Panel is a public body, independent of the Agency of Natural Resources, comprised of four citizen members plus a chairperson. Established by Act No. 115 (2004) of the Vermont General Assembly, the Water Resources Panel is responsible for the management and protection of Vermont's water resources, including significant wetlands.

As the successor to the Water Resources Board, the Water Resources Panel provides a forum for citizen involvement in the development of water resources management and wetlands protection policies for the State of Vermont. It does so through the adoption of state water quality standards and rules regulating the use of public waters, lake levels, and development and other human impacts on significant wetlands and their protective buffer zones. The Board also exercises its rulemaking authority to designate and protect significant wetlands and to designate Outstanding Resource Waters. All of these rules are administered or applied by the Agency of Natural Resources in its water-related permit programs.

The Water Resources Panel does not hear appeals of Agency of Natural Resources water-related permits or other decisions, but it may intervene in appeals of those permits or decisions. If you want information about how to appeal an Agency of Natural Resources water-related permit or decision, you should visit the Environmental Court's web site.

What is the Center for Clean and Clear

The Center for Clean and Clear was established in May 2007, to enhance Vermont's commitment to improve water quality in Lake Champlain by consolodating the resources dedicated to improving water quality in the Lake - resources that were spread through many state programs under a single point of contact. The Center has established both a functional structure and a physical location that have resulted in strong lines of communication across programs, departments, agencies, and organizations. To learn more, visit the Center's web page by clicking here.

What are the Vermont Water Quality Standards?
The Vermont Water Quality Standards (WQS) are rules that concern surface waters throughout Vermont that have been established to achieve the goals of the Vermont Water Quality Policy as well as the objectives of the federal Clean Water Act which relates to the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. The WQS, which are periodically updated by the Vermont Water Resources Panel, contain certain numeric and narrative criteria and describe the classification and water management typing of all waters.

What watershed associations or organizations already exist in Vermont?
The Planning Section is aware of many groups throughout Vermont that are working to improve and protect local surface water resources. The Planning Section maintains and regularly updates a listing of active watershed associations. Click here (pdf, 371 KB) to view the list.

How do I contact the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?
The headquarters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are located in Washington, DC. There are also ten regional offices of EPA organized to serve several states within a particular region of the Nation. Vermont and the five other states of New England are served by the EPA regional office located in Boston, MA.

More information about EPA New England is available on its web site. The mailing address is: 1 Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CVT), Boston, MA 02114.