Notice of Public Hearing on the Draft TMDL Plan for Phosphorus in Lake Champlain

The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) and the Addison County Regional Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 7 p.m. at Lawson Lounge located in Middlebury College's Fitness Center to take public comment on the draft TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Loading) plan for phosphorus in Lake Champlain.

Phosphorus is a primary element necessary for plant growth. Even in very small quantities, milligrams per liter, it continues to act as a fertilizer. As phosphorus level in Lake Champlain increases, algae and other aquatic plants become more abundant. This reduces the amount of sunlight that reaches down into the lake and the amount of oxygen available in the water, both of which are detrimental to other aquatic species and water quality in general. Additionally, this growth affects everyone’s ability to use Lake Champlain for recreation, transportation and as a water supply.

TMDLs allocate pollutants in impaired waters and establish a baseline for emitting pollutants into the waterway. Those allowable amounts of a pollutant should enable a waterway to clean itself. Once these amounts have been identified, they are then divided among the different sources whether point or non-point.

On June 22, 2001 the State of Vermont issued a draft for public discussion of the Vermont portion of the Lake Champlain phosphorus TMDL. This document provides background information on Lake Champlain, describes water quality criteria and how phosphorus affects water quality. The report describes the methods by which the VT Department of Environmental Conservation has arrived at total loading capacities for each segment of the lake and allocated capacity between point and non-point sources. It also provides an implementation plan to reach the established goals.

The Otter Creek is listed as an impaired segment of Lake Champlain subject to the phosphorus TMDL. Current emissions of phosphorus for the watershed exceed the goal established in the proposed TMDL. In order to meet the TMDL goals, there will need to be reduction in phosphorus emissions from both point and non-point sources.

In the Otter Creek watershed, the affected point sources are generally municipal wastewater treatment plants. Additionally, there are a number of non-point sources, including farm runoff, failing residential septic systems, nonspecific stormwater discharges and other uses emitting phosphorus into the watershed. Physical steps will need to be taken to reduce the amount of phosphorus each of these sources adds to the watershed. New sources cannot add more pollutants to the waterway unless that amount is reduced somewhere else. The net total amount of pollutants cannot increase.

The cost of creating the infrastructure to implement the TMDL will vary widely for residents, businesses and communities in the watershed. For example, it might be fairly inexpensive for homeowners to create buffered vegetated strips along a riverbank, but views of the water may be obscured. For farmers creating the same buffer may lead to the loss of a portion of their most productive bottomland fields. Municipal stormwater systems, new development needing stormwater discharge permits and municipal wastewater treatment plants needing infrastructure upgrades may incur additional costs to meet the phosphorus reduction goals.

Copies of the TMDL are available from the ACRPC or the Agency of Natural Resources. Please join us and participate in this discussion on the Lake Champlain Phosphorus TMDL. Please call Tim Bouton or Adam Lougee at the Regional Planning Commission, 388-3141, for further information.