EPA Cites VT on Clean Water Act NonCompliance
This September, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a letter finding that Vermont is not adequately regulating the handling of farm pollution and was thus failing to comply with the Clean Water Act.
You read that correctly, Vermont, arguably one of the most green and pristine (not to mention beautiful) States in the Union, is being cited by the EPA for noncompliance with the Clean Water Act.
What is going on??
The issue being cited by the EPA is farm pollution, more specifically, agricultural runoff from CAFOs. CAFOs are Concentrated Feed Lot Operations. The pollution is, to be clear, not a result of negligence or malice on the part of farmers, it’s an issue with the regulatory process. The EPA’s position in their letter is that because Vermont splits permitting and oversight operations between the Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets (AAFM) and the Agency for Natural Resources (ANR), the split results in difficulty in the permit process on the part of farmers, and thus with enforcement activities on the part of agencies.
The EPA letter states that the permitting and oversight in the State has failed to prevent agricultural runoff from being dealt with properly, and that has resulted in runoff dumping excessive phosphorous into Lake Champlain, which causes algae blooms and unsafe water. Under the Clean Water Act, in situations (like animal agriculture) where discharge is expected, the discharged wastewater must meet certain requirements to avoid contamination of groundwater and other waterways. The lack of permits being granted means there is not much clarity for farmers on permissible discharges or what needs to be done to ensure waste is to acceptable standards.
The Lake Champlain Committee, Vermont Natural Resources Council, and the Conservation Law Foundation all petitioned the EPA to investigate the permitting process. That is what the letter is seeking to address going forward, so that Lake Champlain does not continue to experience algae blooms that impact wildlife and water quality.
The EPA concluded that because the issue stems from the split agency handling of the regulatory process, the ANR would subsequently be responsible for the entire permitting process. They have until December to come up with a plan for how the process of how to take over completely over the following 3 month period. Should they fail to do so, the EPA will take control of discharge and permit operations in the State going forward. According to Thelma Murphy, Deputy Water Division Director for District 1 of the EPA, "We would be issuing permits not just for CAFOs, but for stormwater, for wastewater treatment plants, for industrial facilities," said Murphy. "So it's not just this piece that would become under EPA, it would be the entire program, which is a huge deal."
Stay tuned!
