DEC presents draft Winooski Tactical Basin Plan; regional partners asked to review implementation tables

Keith Fritschie, Basin 8 planner for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, presented the draft 2023 Winooski Tactical Basin Plan to the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission’s Clean Water Advisory Committee on Aug. 1, outlining strategies the agency will include in a formal draft this fall.

Fritschie said the plan is organized into five chapters — basin overview, protection priorities, restoration priorities, sector strategies and an implementation and monitoring table — and includes 52 clean-water strategies and 65 monitoring priorities. He described the basin as the second-largest in Vermont, covering 50 towns and about 1,300 stream miles, with roughly 73% forest, 9% agriculture and 3% developed land.

Fritschie asked regional planning commissions and towns to check the implementation table and municipal protection table for errors or omissions and to "review the implementation table and check if ‘your town is erroneously included/excluded from any particular strategy?’" He requested that comments be sent to keith.fritschie@vermont.gov by Aug. 15 so the agency can incorporate feedback before releasing a public draft in October.

The draft identifies restoration priorities such as rivers subject to total maximum daily load (TMDL) plans and streams listed on the state’s 303(d) impaired waters list. Fritschie said the plan also models phosphorus generation by sub-watershed and lays out examples of strategies across sectors including agriculture; developed lands and stormwater; roads; wastewater; and natural resource restoration.

On developed lands, Fritschie cautioned the committee that meeting TMDL goals will require efforts beyond what is projected to be achieved under the MRGP, the 3-acre permit and the work of MS4 and TS4 programs, signaling a need for expanded voluntary projects and partnerships.

Committee members asked clarifying questions. James Sherrard asked whether phosphorus-reduction credit could be provided for protection of private land along streams; staff answered that credits are potentially available if an easement and good plantings are in place. Jill Sarazen noted local programs such as Blue BTV that promote downspout disconnection and rain gardens. Darlene Palola asked how cropland practices would be handled; Fritschie said the Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets must approve agricultural changes and will use funds for outreach with Natural Resources Conservation District partners.

The draft also proposes numerous stream reclassifications, including Mill Brook in Jericho and Preston, Duck and Joiner brooks, and recommends further study of six wetlands (five in Chittenden County) that could result in upgraded protections. Palola said she was "really impressed with the Plan."

Separately, committee members heard regional updates on Clean Water Service Provider operations and grant activity: Basin 8 declined a CCRPC private-road runoff proposal but funded design work to remove a large berm on the Mad River for phosphorus reduction; the Lamoille Basin Council funded four applications and discussed a conflict-of-interest policy; and Basin 5 reported an active grant round (current deadline Aug. 4) and three subgranted projects in Georgia and Shelburne. CCRPC staff said they have engaged Fitzgerald Environmental to identify potential in-stream projects in several local tributaries.

The committee approved the June 6, 2023, minutes — with a correction to the spelling of Hatseliuk’s first name — on a motion by Chelsea Mandigo, seconded by Dave Wheeler. The group noted items for the Sept. 5 meeting, including a turf and lawn management presentation by a Cornell professor and an update on CCRPC’s Road Erosion Inventory. The meeting adjourned at 12:01 p.m.