The Environmental Protection Agency has made a worrying discovery about a program in Vermont that is failing to protect water quality in the state.
What's happening?
A September letter from the EPA to the secretary of the Vermont Natural Resources Agency indicates that the state is failing to comply with the Clean Water Act and allowing pollution from farms, particularly phosphorus runoff, to discharge into Lake Champlain and other waterways, according to the Associated Press.
The Natural Resources Agency and Agriculture Food and Markets Agency both oversee agricultural water pollution in the state, but the split in responsibilities "is interfering with the regulation of Vermont's CAFOs and preventing Vermont from adequately addressing agricultural water quality," wrote David Cash, EPA administrator for Region 1 in Boston.
Despite programs already in place, it appears bureaucracy is impacting the effective enforcement of the rules, dating back over 15 years, per Cash's letter to the state.
"EPA has closely observed program operations in Vermont for well over a decade and despite having had ample time and opportunity to cure longstanding program deficiencies, many of which were outlined in the 2008 withdrawal petition, ANR has failed to do so," Cash wrote.
Why is phosphorus runoff important?
Excess phosphorus runoff from farms, roads, and other sources has fueled toxic algae blooms in Lake Champlain, per the EPA. Toxic algae blooms "can kill fish, mammals and birds, and may cause human illness or even death in extreme cases," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Non-toxic algae blooms also exist, but those can eat up all the oxygen available in the water, harming fish and other plants.
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What's being done about the runoff and regulations?
The EPA's letter directed Vermont to make changes in how it regulates the runoff, specifying the Agency of Natural Resources must be responsible for monitoring and enforcing the standards, including routine inspections of farms, managing plans for manure placement on fields, and administering discharge permits.
Vermont Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore told the AP that the agency takes its obligations under the Clean Water Act very seriously, and "it's really important to reflect that this is sort of about the operation and administration of government and should not be taken as a reflection on the work being done by farmers."
The state also already has a program in place that allows farmers to apply for performance-based payments from the Agency of Agriculture for water quality improvements on their farms, with $4.9 million available over five years.
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