Legislative Updates

This bill proposes to require that when a person installs a buoy, dock, or floating structure on the waters of the State, expanded polystyrene foam used for flotation shall be encapsulated by a protective covering or shall be designed to prevent the expanded polystyrene foam from disintegrating into the water. The bill also would prohibit a person from selling, distributing, or using certain expanded polystyrene foam products in or on the waters of the State.

This bill proposes to declare Lake Memphremagog a lake in crisis and eliminate the criteria of declining real property value in the municipality in which the lake is located for the lake in crisis designation.

This bill proposes to authorize the Department of Environmental Conservation to issue a permit for the dredging of a navigable water in the State to improve navigation of the water. The bill would establish the Working Group on Navigation of Lake Champlain to evaluate and facilitate the dredging of Lake Champlain between Mallet's Bay and the Inland Sea in order to improve navigation of Lake Champlain for purposes of public safety, emergency response, and environmental protection.

This bill proposes to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution in Vermont of apparel, cookware, paper products, and pesticides containing PFAS by 2024. It also proposes to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution in Vermont of cosmetic products containing certain chemical classes by 2026. This bill proposes to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution of all products containing PFAS by 2030.

This bill proposes to require the Secretary of Administration to make various changes to the State's Policy for Grant Issuance and Monitoring. This bill also requires the Secretary of Digital Services to develop a statewide database that is required to list all State-funded grants available to municipalities.

This bill proposes to clarify how indirect discharges of wastewater in the State are permitted, including compliance with the Vermont Water Quality Standards and the Agency of Natural Resources' pending Antidegradation Implementation Rule.

This bill proposes to allow the municipality or municipalities surrounding an oligotrophic lake to prohibit the use of wake boats.

This bill would require the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife to issue the Aquatic Nuisance Prevention Pass to operate vessels in the waters of the State. 

This bill proposes to establish a moratorium on the issuance of an aquatic nuisance control permit by the Secretary of Natural Resources.

This bill proposes to establish as State policy that wetlands shall be regulated and managed by the State to produce a net gain of wetlands acreage.