DEC budget rises as federal infrastructure funds drive growth; lawmakers press on PCBs in schools and Lake Carmody treatment

Jason Batchelder, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 20 that DEC’s FY26 budget is heavily driven by federal funding and that the department’s overall request is approximately $245,000,000.

Batchelder said the increase is “driven primarily by federal funds received through IIJA and BIL,” and that the department has seen major inflows tied to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, American Rescue Plan Act pass-throughs and other federal sources. He said the water investment division administers a large portfolio of state revolving loan funds and pass-through grants, and that the department is seeing unprecedented demand from municipalities for water and wastewater projects.

Why it matters: commissioners said the federal dollars expand DEC’s capacity to fund water infrastructure, land remediation and subrecipient awards—activities that drive both short-term construction and long-term operations in municipal systems and environmental cleanup.

Federal funds and portfolio status - Batchelder told the committee DEC’s federally funded portfolio is large and multi-year; he said the department has a portfolio “of about $50,000,000 in federal funding right now,” of which roughly $38,000,000 has…