July 2023
I am writing to update you on the status of the Echo Lake reclassification petition and on our broader initiative to advance the reclassification of lakes and streams statewide and to establish a more comprehensive and site-specific suite of protections for Class A(1) and B(1) waters through proposed statutory changes and the Agency of Natural Resources proposed Antidegradation Implementation Rule.
As you know, we decided to pause the petition review process for the four pending lake reclassification petitions so the Agency could work toward a more comprehensive protection solution. This solution would allow reclassification determinations to be based solely upon water quality data and not whether the current statutory prohibition on new indirect systems with a design flow of 1,000 gallons or greater in new Class A waters is appropriate. While we didn’t make it to the finish line with this initiative during the 2023 legislative session, we did make significant progress with the passage of a Senate bill (S.146) relating to the permitting of indirect discharges, antidegradation, and reclassification.
We greatly appreciate your investment of time and effort to prepare the reclassification petition and we share your goal of protecting the existing excellent water quality in Echo Lake. To that end, we ask for your continued patience as we work to advance our broader efforts to provide a better suite of protections for our highest quality surface waters, like Echo Lake, than reclassification alone.
We will return to the statehouse to continue advancing this initiative in the legislature during the 2024 session. We are also considering holding meetings later this summer to discuss the Agency’s overall effort to advance reclassification through statutory changes and the proposed antidegradation rule and will share the meeting dates and times as soon as they are scheduled. We look forward to further discussing with you how this work would advance water quality protections for Echo Lake and Vermont surface waters more broadly.
Please reach out if you have any questions and we will be in touch again soon.
Sincerely,
John Beling