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CCRPC panel advances Fairfax Street culvert and Wolcott floodplain work from a 62-site non-regulatory project list
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Summary
A CCRPC Clean Water Advisory Committee presentation summarized a consultant effort that identified 62 candidate non-regulatory water-quality projects across four watersheds and advanced the Fairfax Street culvert replacement and Wolcott-area floodplain restoration for funding and bidding. Committee members discussed prioritization, DEC eligibility limits, and landowner barriers.
The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission’s Clean Water Advisory Committee on July 1 reviewed a consultant-led effort that identified 62 candidate non-regulatory water-quality projects across four watersheds and advanced a handful for near-term work.
Evan Fitzgerald of FEA described an 18-month data-mining project that drew on geomorphic assessments, fluvial erosion hazard assessments, stormwater master plans and the tactical basin plan for the watersheds covering Mallets Creek, Allen Brook, Mill Brook and Stonebridge Brook. Consultants visited roughly 25 sites and prepared summary sheets with maps, photos, watershed size, estimated phosphorus-credit and cost, Fitzgerald said.
The committee and consultants said they developed prioritization criteria that shifted after follow-up conversations with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Consultants and staff identified smaller culvert replacements, floodplain reconnections and river-corridor easements as especially cost-effective for reducing phosphorus loads.
Dan Albrecht, CCRPC staff, said the Fairfax Street culvert replacement in St. Albans has moved forward with a shared financing approach between the town and the Clean Water Service Provider (CWSP). He also said bidding has completed for the Fairfax Street culvert and that two Wolcott-area projects, including work at the Wolcott Family Natural Area, will be put out to bid later this summer.
DEC planner Keith Fritschie told the committee that DEC interpretation of eligibility rules removed some gully-mitigation sites from eligibility in the Wolcott area; the team instead identified alternate floodplain-restoration opportunities. Albrecht flagged landowner constraints as a recurring barrier, noting that CWSPs “can’t really pay landowners to plant trees,” which limits some agricultural parcel opportunities.
Committee members debated the appropriate planning scale for development work. Several participants said watershed-scale targeting simplifies use of existing datasets, while others suggested town-level approaches can be more practical for local outreach and uptake.
Members also discussed how the CWSPs are using a mix of funding sources. Dan Albrecht said the Beebe Lane project in Basin 5 used congressional earmark dollars and other programs (including local DIBG funds) to cover costs while generating about 1 kilogram of phosphorus reduction as a precedent for future projects.
Next steps listed by staff include advancing the Fairfax Street and Wolcott bids, continuing outreach to landowners, and further prioritization work in coordination with DEC and municipal partners.
Who said what: Items in this article are attributed to participants who spoke during the meeting. Direct quotations were not recorded verbatim in the minutes; the article paraphrases statements as presented in the meeting record.
What happens next: Staff and partners will proceed with bidding and project development this summer and return updates to the Clean Water Advisory Committee.