Vermont officials report $185 million year and $600 million‑plus since 2016 invested in clean water; data gaps, ARPA drop‑off and capacity needs noted

Julie Moore, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, told the Natural Resources & Energy committee that Vermont’s 2024 Clean Water Initiative performance report shows a major increase in clean‑water investments in recent years and highlights the need to align funding, capacity and planning to meet long‑term total maximum daily load (TMDL) goals. “Every dollar we invest in clean water, we know represents a choice about our priorities,” Moore said while introducing the report.

Emily Byrd, Clean Water Initiative program manager in the Department of Environmental Conservation, and Claire Madden, the program’s tracking and accounting supervisor, presented the report’s findings. Byrd described the program’s mission to “align and coordinate clean water efforts statewide” and said the performance report aggregates data from roughly 50 funding programs administered across state and federal partners. Madden summarized the report’s four tracked categories — investments, education, outputs and modeled pollution reductions — and showed the state’s overall investment trajectory since 2016.

Key figures presented to the committee included: roughly $185 million invested in the most recent fiscal year (driven largely by one‑time federal sources such as ARPA), more than $600 million invested since 2016, an increase in Clean Water Fund annual revenue from about $5 million per year to roughly $25 million per year, and the statement that ARPA dollars must be encumbered by Dec. 31, 2024 (and are a short‑term funding boost). Members were told that the state expects a decline in ARPA‑supported spending in coming years and that officials are pursuing other federal opportunities (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act) and creative uses of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to sustain work.

Madden walked the committee through modeled phosphorus‑reduction estimates for the Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog basins. She said the Lake Memphremagog basin had an overall reduction target of about 15.2 metric tons per year and that the state had accounted for about 2.6 metric tons by fiscal 2024 (about 17 percent of the long‑term target). For Lake Champlain, presenters said the state is roughly a quarter of the way to its long‑term target. Madden cautioned that year‑to‑year modeled reductions can appear to dip in the most recent year because of reporting lags: the team routinely backfills data from prior years and the figures for 2024 could increase when additional implementation reports arrive.

Presenters emphasized the role of four recently restructured grant programs (the Water Quality Restoration Formula Grants, Statewide Water Quality Enhancement Grants, Developed Lands Implementation Grants, and Municipal Stormwater Implementation Grants) and the tactical basin planning process that implements the TMDLs on a five‑year cycle. They noted several co‑benefits of clean water investments — flood resilience, habitat restoration and economic stimulus — and said projects often qualify for multiple funding buckets (fish passage, FEMA flood resilience, water quality) which helps leverage resources.

Committee members raised questions about: whether reductions get harder as targets near completion; how interstate and international partners (New York, Quebec) share responsibilities for Lake Champlain; how combined sewer overflows and storm damage figure into measured loads; and how the cessation of ARPA spending will affect capacity. Presenters said wastewater contributions are measured and that permitted maximum discharges are higher than measured annual loads. They told lawmakers that about 700 properties were identified as requiring 3‑acre stormwater permit coverage, roughly 500 had filed a notice of intent and just over 200 had pulled permits to begin construction.

Officials said the state is investing in partner capacity to scale up project development and implementation and that some ARPA funds were targeted to capital projects that can be maintained going forward. They also shared project highlights — agricultural filter strips, barnyard covers, and a culvert removal and road decommissioning in Morgan, Vt. — to illustrate on‑the‑ground outcomes.

No formal committee vote or motion was recorded during this presentation. Committee members requested follow‑up briefings, including a deeper dive on the 3‑acre rule and on permitting and compliance timelines.