News about Lake Champlain has been dismal lately, with pervasive blue-green algae blooms popping up in places like St. Albans Bay and Missisquoi Bay.
Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack came to town to announce the arrival of a more welcome form of green — $46 million of federal funding to clean up Lake Champlain.
Standing with U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on the ECHO Center balcony, which overlooks a markedly less scummy section of the lake, Vilsack said he’d just been looking at worrisome water samples. “There’s no question it needs help.”
The federal government is doubling its contribution to the effort, according to Vilsack. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent $45 million Vermont’s way over the last decade; now it’s making the same investment over a five-year period. The money will be spent to help farmers create buffers, adopt better tillage techniques and put up fences to prevent livestock from accessing nearby bodies of water, among other conservation efforts. The state is also receiving $1 million immediately help producers plant “crop covers” to stabilize vulnerable soil.
Fueling the algae blooms, which can be toxic, is the excessive amount of phosphorous that’s finding its way into Lake Champlain. Agriculture accounts for roughly 35 percent of the phosphorous, according to the EPA; stream runoff and development are also major offenders. Vermont recently submitted a new plan for reducing phosphorous to the EPA after a lawsuit from the Conservation Law Foundation proved that the state’s previous plan didn’t meet federal clean water standards.
James Ehlers, executive director of Lake Champlain International, isn’t convinced an infusion of cash is going to do the trick. Reached by phone while boating on the lake, Ehlers said, “It’s a lot of money, but we’ve already spent a lot of money and the situation has gotten worse.” He has been among the clean-water advocates urging the state to rely less on voluntary action and start requiring farms to reduce their phosphorous output. “If we just dump 45 million on farms and don’t hold farms accountable for those practices through enforcement… it’s going to be a big waste of money,” Ehlers concluded.
State officials were more optimistic. “It’s going to amplify our momentum,” said Vermont’s agriculture secretary, Chuck Ross, explaining that the money will help the state implement the plan it proposed to the EPA. In the meantime, Ross and Deb Markowitz, secretary of the agency of natural resources, told reporters after the event they are deploying staff — they haven’t determined how many — to Franklin County in an “all-hands-on-deck” attempt to address the expansive blooms there.
Vilsack credited Vermont’s congressional delegation — in particular Leahy, whom he referred to as a “lion of the Senate” — and state officials for pestering him with requests for assistance. “I received phone calls from both the senator and the congressman, the secretary and the governor,” Vilsack said, before teasing Leahy for being liberal with his contact information. Of Shumlin, who is on vacation in Nova Scotia, Vilsack noted, “In fact, I think the senator gave him my cell phone, which I guess I appreciate. Holy cow, the guy calls me every other day.”
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They have a plan to fix the lake, but they don’t know how many staff they are going to deploy?
The “plan” that Secretary Ross refers to has no plan for addressing the three most polluted sections of the lake, and that after three years and untold amounts of money and staff time. Very disappointing. And that plan, a TMDL, is based on the false premise that dilution is the solution to pollution.
It obviously is going to take Vermonters being sickened by their drinking water, as our neighbors to the north have, before politicians are willing to be held account for quantifiable actions.
I am the youngest but one of seven sons. My father owns a little red sports car of which is is very proud and which he forbids anyone else to drive. Notwithstanding this prohibition, each of my brothers, as they came of age took out the car and smashed it up. Whenever this happens, my father calls a family meeting at which he reminds us all of his love for this car, of his strict rule that no one drive it but himself. He then spends what ever it takes to repair it. Two years later the next brother takes the car out and smashed it up; father calls another meeting, reminds us again of his love for the car, that we are not permitted to drive it and he then spends whatever it takes to put it back in condition. When my turn came, I too took the car out for a spin, lost control and smashed it up good and proper. My youngest brother turns seventeen next year.
when I was swimming in the lake last July near north beach, the lake looked like it had a fair amount of sediment but still relatively clear. It is important for everyone to understand that there will never be a quick clean up…it takes a number of years for the lake to react to any reduction in phosphorus inputs. Politicians in Vermont have to level with their constituents about this. Keep putting money into this because clean up efforts must continue regardless. Current generations may never see a big difference. Ehlers has a point on the voluntary nature of farm pollution…if it isn’t mandatory, some farmers won’t comply. It’s also worth noting that storm water overflows are just as damaging to the lake as polluted farm runoff. Quit complaining about the expense of storm water detention. Just do it.
It’s important to keep the lakes clean – we visit Lake Champlain every year and it’s always amazing. So looking forward to next summer already lol. We usually cruise with the spirit of ethan allen – if you’re wondering where to go. http://www.soea.com/