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Senate committee advances study of water classification, anti‑degradation rules after wide stakeholder support
Summary
The Natural Resources & Energy committee on Feb. 13 heard from DEC, lake groups, engineers and legal experts backing S.223, a study committee to review Vermont’s water classification system and anti‑degradation implementation; speakers urged focused language and said technical solutions exist to protect waters while allowing appropriate development.
The Senate Natural Resources & Energy committee on Feb. 13 took up S.223, a bill to create a study committee to review how Vermont classifies surface waters and how the state implements anti‑degradation protections.
Neil Kent, deputy commissioner at the Department of Environmental Conservation, said the department supports a stakeholder study that would evaluate the classification sliding scale for different waterbodies and examine whether the approach for lakes and ponds requires refinement. "We'd like to... bring a really tight proposal back to you all," Kent said, describing the goal as creating regulatory certainty while protecting water resources.
Stephanie Sargent, program manager for monitoring in DEC’s Water Quality Division, urged the committee to tighten the bill’s language so the study group would explicitly evaluate whether…
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