Watersheds United Vermont wanted to pass along the below correspondence from The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Clean Water Partners,

We understand many of you are feeling uncertain about proceeding with one or more clean water projects scheduled for the 2025 field season. This is connected to concerns that existing federally-funded agreements may be revoked or frozen mid-way, creating potentially hazardous site conditions and compromising the financial resilience of partner groups who employ and build budgets around project-based personnel.

Recently DEC hosted three meetings to learn more about these concerns and to discuss with leadership and current Funding Program Administrators (FPAs) how the State may be able to support continued progress on our collective clean water goals this season. We were explicitly asked to establish some form of cash reserve that could be activated under specific circumstances. Within the short time frame of the upcoming field season we are not able to launch a new risk reserve resource. Below are key takeaways from these meetings, however, that may provide additional information

  1. First, we learned it’s important to clarify that Clean Water Funds are state-level funds.
    1. The Enhancement Development Design and Implementation Block Grants (EDDIBG), the Enhancement Dam Removal Design and Implementation Block Grant (Dam Removal DIBG), the DEC Woody Buffer Block Grant (WBBG), and the Water Quality Restoration Formula Grants are 100% state-funded.
    2. The Clean Water Workforce Capacity Development Initiative is co-funded with state and federal funds but this is done so in a manner that DEC can likely make whole with state funds any gaps should they arise.
  2. Second, EDDIBG, Dam Removal DIBG, and WBBG FPAs, including Watersheds United Vermont, Mount Ascutney Regional Commission, and the Natural Resources Conservation Council are currently inventorying federal co-funding status for projects within their funding portfolios for the upcoming field season. Your FPA may be in touch if they need additional information on the federal co-funding for your project. Please reach out to your FPA if you have concerns about federal co-funding for a specific project in order to brainstorm how to manage the project and risk given any federal funding uncertainty. The FPAs are exploring what, if any, flexibility they may have in withholding some funds to serve as expanded contingency.
    1. Watersheds United Vermont,
    2. Mount Ascutney Regional Commission, and the
    3. Natural Resources Conservation Council
  3. Third, DEC recognizes that holding more funds in contingency will ultimately slow project investments. A few things we are pursuing in the short term to counter-act this impact includes:
    1. Fast-tracking and increasing the size of upcoming funding solicitations and amendments including for dam removals, woody buffer plantings, Enhancement Development Design and Implementation, and capacity so that we can more immediately roll out state fiscal year 2026 dollars as soon as available this July. We hope the timing of these new dollars will enhance contingency capabilities and lessen the impact on forward project progress.
    2. Discussing with the business office an adjustment to some Block Grant payment terms to support expedited cash flow.
    3. Discussing with the capacity FPA how this initiative can fill potential unexpected gaps.
    4. Fast-tracking updated co-funding guidance to support stronger collaboration across FPAs and facilitate contingency management state-wide.
  4. Fourth, DEC will continue our dialogue with other clean water funding partners to share best practices on payment provisions and other strategies that support you, the clean water network, in these times of risk and uncertainty.

We recognize these solutions are limited to Clean Water Funding initiatives administered by the Clean Water Initiative Program. Other agencies may also be working in their respective program areas to navigate changes and impacts. This, however, is what we can directly speak to and is what is feasible to implement within the short time-frame in preparation for the 2025 field season. We are also, however, exploring statewide risk management options with leadership that may be coordinated more at the interagency level, but on a slightly longer timeline. This will occur through the Clean Water Board and budgeting process; a venue and mechanism where the Clean Water Initiative Interagency staff collaborate on these sorts of funding questions and solutions.

We encourage you all to continue to apply to and invoice against federally-funded grants at a tempo that expresses the high demand and need for clean water work in Vermont. We hope this communication and the strategies we’re activating in the short and long term can provide some assurances we’re here to partner with you in this work. DEC could not get this done without all of you and we deeply value your continued partnerships to make progress in the face of uncertainty.

Share

Recent Posts