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Burlington urges S.212 to let municipalities with capacity handle state water/wastewater technical reviews
Summary
Burlington Water Resources testified in support of S.212, saying the city already performs much of the technical review for water and wastewater projects and that a voluntary delegation pathway would reduce duplication, speed project reviews and let municipalities tailor fees for local priorities, while DEC should set technical qualification criteria administratively.
Abigail Moir, who manages Burlington Water Resources, testified to the Senate Natural Resources & Energy committee that S.212 would allow municipalities with demonstrated technical capacity to perform some of the state’s water and wastewater technical review functions through a voluntary delegation model.
Moir described Burlington’s integrated water services — three wastewater plants, one drinking water plant, computerized collection‑system models and a staff that reviews capacity, collection and distribution system impacts for large projects — and said the city already performs much of the detailed technical work that the state reviews. “We are probably providing as much as 90% of the total project review process, potentially duplicatively with the state,” she said.
She told the committee Burlington is open to a delegated pathway but had administrative questions about fees and state cost recovery. Burlington said it would like the ability to collect municipal review fees to fund in‑house capacity and to use those fees to offer incentives (for example, fee reductions for affordable housing or childcare projects). Moir recommended the legislature let DEC set technical qualification criteria and program requirements administratively rather than embedding detailed qualifications in statute, to allow flexibility as processes and tools evolve.
Committee members asked whether delegation would speed permitting. Moir said local review could eliminate duplication and create capacity for the state to concentrate on communities that lack technical resources. She also flagged related topics — advanced metering, industrial pretreatment at the local level and cybersecurity questions for metering projects — that the committee is examining separately.
Next steps: the committee invited additional technical witnesses (including Green Mountain Water Environment Association and DEC staff) to provide detailed input and follow‑up materials on capacity, fee structures and procedural safeguards.
