Senate votes down GMO food labeling amendment, vermontbiz.com
The
Senate today rejected by a vote of 71 to 27 an amendment by Senator
Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) to let states require labels on food or
beverages made with genetically modified ingredients.
“An
overwhelming majority of Americans favor GMO labeling but virtually all
of the major biotech and food corporations in the country oppose it,”
Sanders said. “Today’s vote is a step forward on an important issue that
we are going to continue to work on. The people of Vermont and the
people of America have a right to know what's in the food that they
eat,” he added.
The Vermont House on May 10 voted 99-42 for
legislation calling for labeling food products that contain genetically
modified organisms. Opponents raised concerns that the state could face
lawsuits claiming that food labeling must be left to federal regulators.
Sanders’ proposal was designed to make it clear that states have the
authority to require the labeling of foods produced using genetically
modified organisms.
States to Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Better nuclear waste rules needed, Burlington Free Press (pay site)
Attorneys general in Vermont, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut announced Thursday they are petitioning the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a more thorough environmental review of storage of highly radioactive nuclear waste at plant sites.
It was another effort by states to turn up the pressure on federal agencies to keep a promise Washington made 30 years ago but has yet to fulfill: that it would take possession of and find a permanent disposal site for what’s now more than 70,000 tons of waste piling up at the nation’s 104 commercial reactors.
“Federal law requires that the NRC analyze the environmental dangers of storing spent nuclear fuel at reactors that were not designed for long-term storage,” said Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell.
In a landmark ruling last year, a federal appeals court in Washington said the NRC needed to do a full environmental review of the risks of storing the waste — spent nuclear fuel — in storage pools and casks made of steel and concrete on the grounds of nuclear plants while the search continues for a disposal solution.
Hearing scheduled on Vermont Yankee challenge, WCAX
A federal court judge has scheduled a hearing on June 4 on a challenge by the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
Entergy Corp. sued the state last month, saying regulators have delayed approval of a backup emergency diesel generator. Yankee has been ordered by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to install a backup power source by September.
Vermont Public Radio reports Yankee says it needs to start construction by June 11 to get the equipment on line by September. The state Public Service Board hasn't granted a permit. In April, it said it is considering whether it can grant approval when Entergy "is not in compliance" with existing state orders covering Yankee's continued operation.
Vt. developer wins hydro power permits, WCAX
A developer has received state and federal permits to generate electricity at a 200-year-old dam site on Vermont's Walloomsac River.
Bill Scully and his company, Carbon Zero, bought the old Vermont Tissue Mill in North Bennington in 2008. Vermont Public Radio reports Scully started his quest to revive the dam that once powered the mill soon after that.
Scully hopes to produce electricity for about 220 homes and for his own businesses, which include a couple of restaurants and a store. He says his project will improve water quality by increasing the flow of water in a channel that's now dry for part of the year. He says it also will create new, year-round habitat for migrating fish and other aquatic life.
Owner of Vt. oil pipeline seeks ruling re-do, WCAX
The owner of a crude oil pipeline that runs between Maine and Montreal is asking Vermont environmental regulators to reconsider a ruling that would require a new review under the state's land use law if the company seeks to move Canadian tar sands oil in the pipeline.
Last month, Vermont's District 7 Environmental Commission determined the Portland-Montreal Pipeline Corp. would need a new Act 250 land-use permit if it proposes to move Canadian tar sands oil through an existing pipeline between Montreal and Portland.
The decision said changing the use of the pipeline would represent a significant change to the existing pipeline and so warrant a new review. In its request... the pipeline company says it has no plans to convert the pipeline to carry tar sands oil.
Appeals dropped against Vt. Wal-Mart expansion, WCAX
A developer has been cleared to start construction on a Wal-Mart expansion in Bennington, Vt., seven years after first proposing it.
The owners of the Mount Anthony Country Club have dropped the final two appeals that were pending in the project. The Bennington Banner reports no reason was given; a lawyer representing the country club declined to comment Tuesday. Developer Jonathan Levy of BLS Bennington had secured permits from the town in 2006 to double the size of the Wal-Mart to about 112,000 square feet.
But the Vermont Natural Resources Council and a citizens' group, as well as the country club, had appealed local and state permits to expand the store. Those cases have since been resolved.
photo by Alan Cleaver
Vt. House committee approves GMO food bill, WCAX
The
Agriculture Committee in the Vermont House has approved a bill calling
for genetically modified foods to be specially labeled.
The bill
lays out technical definitions for what constitutes genetic
modification, and says food that has been subject to those techniques
must bear a label saying so.
The legislation faces an uncertain
future, and is expected to go next to the House Judiciary Committee,
before being debated by the full House.
Supporters of the House
bill say consumers want information about what's in their food. The bill
has drawn warnings from the attorney general's office that it's likely
to be challenged in a lawsuit brought by industry.
2 Ohio power plants to stop burning coal in deal, WCAX
Eight East Coast states, the federal government and citizens groups from Indiana have reached an agreement with 1 of the country's largest electricity producers to stop burning coal at two Midwest power plans.
American Electric Power agreed late Friday in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, to retire or switch to natural gas two coal-burning units at power plants in Ohio and Indiana by the end of 2015.
As part of the settlement, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey will receive a total of $6 million. The Indiana groups will receive $2.5 million. Cheap natural gas and environmental regulations are causing utilities to shut down coal-fired power plants. AEP had previously planned to stop coal at one unit.
Vt. panel debates lakeshore protection bill, WCAX
A proposed state law creating new protections for Vermont's lakeshores is drawing support from environmentalists and criticism from some lakeside property owners and municipal officials.
The bill before the House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee calls on the Agency of Natural Resources to draft new rules restricting what can be built at the edges of lakes and requiring a buffer of vegetation between the water's edge and built-up structures.
The committee heard Thursday from Karen Horn of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, who said towns are worried about the state intruding in an area of regulation traditionally left to them. It also heard from people worried about property rights and from environmentalists who said Vermont has fallen behind neighboring states in protecting its lakes.
Vt waste hauler gets permission for composting biz, WCAX
A Vermont waste hauler has won state approval for a commercial composting operation in Bennington.
Trevor Mance, the owner of TAM Waste Management, says he was granted an Act 250 land-use permit last week, his last regulatory hurdle. Mance had hoped to build a compost facility in his home town of Shaftsbury, but the town imposed a moratorium on commercial composting that is still in effect.
Mance tells Vermont Public Radio Bennington officials not only welcomed the facility, but approved its location on ten acres of town-owned land.
He says the compost project is part of a larger effort to reduce the amount of waste his company is hauling to increasingly distant landfills. Mance says it could be a year before the company has compost to sell.
Vermont panel rejects some of Vermont Yankee critic's evidence, Burlington Free Press (pay site)
The Vermont Public Service Board agreed Monday to consider some, but not all, of a prominent nuclear critic's testimony as it weighs whether to give the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant a new state permit.
Plant owner Entergy Corp.'s lawyers objected to testimony from Raymond Shadis of the anti-nuclear group New England Coalition. In the end, the board said it would hear some of the points Shadis wanted to make, but not his testimony on the plant's effects on fish in the Connecticut River.
"In anything I've ever read about your qualifications, being a fish biologist was never one of them," board member John Burke said to Shadis during a series of questions the board used to examine his qualifications.
Shadis got his formal training in fine art, teaching and rehabilitation counseling, but has "engaged in self-directed concentrated studies in commercial nuclear power issues for the last 30 years," according to a resume he filed with the board. The board, however, said it would consider Shadis' testimony on the environmental effects of mist from the plant's cooling towers.
Vt report says Springfield power plan lacks buyers, WCAX
A Vermont official says the proposal to build a 35-megawatt wood-fired power plant in Springfield won't help meet the state's renewable energy goals because none of the state's electric utilities has agreed to buy any of the power it would produce.
The comments were contained in testimony filed with the Public Service Board by Asa Hokkins, the director of energy policy and planning for the Department of Public Service, which advocates for ratepayers before the utility-regulating board.
The Rutland Herald reports that 1 of the developers of the proposal, Dan Ingold, called the comments "a kick in the pants." He says the two companies working on the project are working with utilities to reach agreements.
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October 18 Aiken Lecture to Address Feeding 9 Billion on One Planet, UVM
Over the next forty years — if we are to feed the planet’s burgeoning population — we must produce as much food as we did over the last eight thousand years.
This is Jason Clay’s fundamental challenge to the world. And it’s the reason he thinks small-scale change in our food system won’t solve the problem.
“In Vermont and around the world,” he says, “business as usual and incremental change will not get us where we need to go.”
That’s why he’s a passionate conservationist who works closely with some of the largest corporations in the world — helping them re-imagine the ways they produce and purchase food.
“This increase in production is so dramatic,” Clay says, “that if we don’t find the right places and ways to grow food, the earth will be unrecognizable.”
Jason Clay will deliver the 2012 Aiken Lecture, “Feeding 9 Billion, Maintaining the Planet,” at the University of Vermont’s Ira Allen Chapel at 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 18.
The event is free and open to the public.
Rep. Klein Proposing State Land Use Plan, VPR
East Montpelier Democrat Tony Klein says it's time to bring back an idea from the past.
Klein, who chairs the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, said Vermont needs to consider a statewide land use plan that could spell out where development could go.
He pointed out that when the Legislature passed the Act 250 development review law in 1970 it also considered the land use plan.
"And it's my intention to re-introduce that exact bill with some updating on it," he said. "I think it's a good time that the state of Vermont has a conversation about what it wants to look like in 50 or 100 years. And I think it absolutely should include our ridgelines, our forest lands, our agricultural lands and our river valleys."
Vermont to Help Communities Reduce Stormwater Runoff, Burlington Free Press
BURLINGTON — The state of Vermont wants residents and communities to try new techniques to control stormwater pollution that can carry pollutants from driveways, parking lots and roads, the small but widespread sources of pollution that have bedeviled efforts to clean up Lake Champlain and other waterways.
Rather than large plants to treat stormwater, the state's Green Infrastructure Initiative suggests a variety of localized projects that could, for example, allow rainwater to seep into the ground instead of flowing into rivers and streams. The local practices and small pollution control techniques would complement the traditional methods, such as sewage treatment plants.
Vermont Yankee nuke plant sues over new state tax, WCAX
The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has filed a lawsuit against the state over taxes on the plant the Legislature passed this year.
Vermont Yankee already won a round in federal court over the state's efforts to close it. That case is on appeal.
Now New Orleans-based plant owner Entergy Corp. is suing over a law increasing the plant's annual tax bill from about $5 million to about $12.8 million. Backers of the increase say it was designed to make up for revenues lost to the state under agreements that ended on the plant's originally scheduled shutdown date in March.
Gov. Peter Shumlin calls Entergy's decision to challenge the tax "disappointing." Entergy says the tax is unconstitutional.
The plant is in Vernon, in the southeast corner of the state. It's near Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which receive power from it.
Future Of Farm Bill Uncertain, VPR
After the U.S. House adjourns this weekend, it's very unlikely that they will be back in Washington until after the November election.
The timetable is creating a major problem for members of Congress who want to pass a new 5-year Farm Bill before the current law expires in two weeks.
Congressman Peter Welch is a member of the House Agriculture committee. He points out that several months ago this panel gave its approval to a proposed Farm Bill. The legislation contains a new dairy program that's designed to stabilize milk prices and discourage the over production of milk.
But House leaders are concerned that the legislation doesn't make big enough cuts in crop subsidy and nutrition programs and Welch says the bill is now in legislative limbo.
Residents concerned about Vt. biomass project, WCAX
The public has until Sept. 10 to comment on an air quality permit for a proposed biomass project in Vermont.
More than a dozen opponents of the North Springfield project expressed concerns at a recent public forum it would emit harmful pollutants that could lead to respiratory illnesses for residents.
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources' air pollution control division granted a draft permit last month. It said developers will use the best available control technology to control pollutants. It determined emissions comply with applicable standards.
The Eagle-Times reports... the only person who spoke favorably about the project was Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Developmental Corporation. He said there would be a geothermal benefit, to capture excess heat byproduct and use it for businesses and households.
Landowners critique proposed rural zoning in Hinesburg, Burlington Free Press (pay site)
Seventy-five Hinesburg residents and landowners gathered at a public hearing this week discuss a three-pronged proposal for changes to the town plan and rural zoning.
The planning commission’s proposed amendments would revise portions of the town plan, the zoning regulations and the subdivision regulations, with goals of giving rural landowners more options for use of their land; making sure important natural resources are defined; and providing a formula for the number of residential units to be allowed in two rural districts.
Farmers and landowners attending the hearing appeared to have divided opinions about the changes, stating approval of some and criticism of other aspects. Many expressed concern about the proposed land that would be excluded when calculating the number of lots that could be subdivided within a property.
Vermont communities to get $300,000 from Feds for post-Irene support, vermontbiz.com
More support to Vermont communities for long-term revitalization is on the way, according to Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch. They announced Wednesday that the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development has been given a $300,000 investment award by the US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA).
The award, which is funded through the Fiscal Year 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity administered by the EDA, will support long-term recovery, spur job creation, leverage private investments and promote disaster resilience in Vermont communities. Leahy, Sanders, and Welch all pushed last year for this critical funding at EDA to support the state’s business community in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
The EDA investment funds the development of a state-wide long-term economic recovery strategy for Vermont. The strategy will help state agencies and departments to develop and implement policies that will support regional growth, create a more resilient economy in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, and mitigate the impact of future disasters.
photo by lori05871
2nd meeting to be held on Vt. land use rule, WCAX
Vermont residents have another opportunity to weigh in on a proposed rule to regulate public activities on land owned by the state Fish & Wildlife Department.
The proposal would allow hunting and fishing on more than 133,000 acres. It prohibits snowmobiling, mountain biking and horseback riding except in designated corridors.
Officials say the proposal will give game wardens the authority to enforce the rule. The Fish and Wildlife Board has given preliminary approval to the proposal.
A hearing will be held Thursday at Kehoe Conservation Camp in Castleton at 6 p.m. A previous hearing was held Tuesday in Montpelier.
Solar furnace company seeks to build in Vt., boston.com
A Minnesota renewable energy company is looking to help set up a solar-powered furnace business in Vermont. The furnaces would be made in a 6,000 square-foot former mill building in Bellows Falls.
The
Eagle-Times reports (http://bit.ly/PIA5Ie) the company, Rural Renewable
Energy Alliance, has agreed to provide its patented design of solar
panels that create heat through a furnace through a Vermont company. The
local company would be called RREAL Warm.
Federal Court Ruling Could Expose Vt. To More Air Pollution, VPR
A Vermont environmental official says a recent federal court ruling could expose the state to more toxic air pollution.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has overturned an Environmental Protection Agency rule aimed at controlling air pollution in eastern parts of the country.
The decision was a setback for states like Vermont that are downwind from the industrial Midwest. Pollution from factories and coal plants can make the air unhealthy in other states.
David Mears is Vermont's environmental conservation commissioner. He says the Environmental Protection Agency rule was a good step to limit cross-border air pollution.
"If this does become a final ruling it means Vermont will continue to suffer the harm from this kind of air pollution which includes mercury," Mears says. "It includes nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, things that cause acid rain, also that are associated with particulate matter." Mears says public health would improve significantly if particulate pollution were reduced.
US Forest Service proposes plans for parts of Vt., WCAX
The U.S. Forest Service is asking for public input for a project primarily in Dorset and Peru that would improve habitat diversity and forest health, restore eroded areas and improve public access opportunities in parts of Vermont's Green Mountain National Forest.
The Green Mountain National Forest staff is seeking public comments on its preliminary Environmental Assessment for the Dorset Peru Integrated Resource Project. The comment period is open 30 days.
The project would also restore stream function by adding large woody debris and replacing culverts, preserve heritage resources such as an old mill, furnace and kiln sites.
More than 2,000 acres of timber harvesting is proposed to support the local economy, enhance forest health and create more diverse wildlife habitat.
State regulator: Vt. Yankee needs more NRC review, WCAX
A top Vermont utility regulator says she's not satisfied with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's response to her concern that a string of small problems at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant may add up to something larger.
Elizabeth Miller, commissioner of the Department of Public Service, says she wrote to the NRC this week to ask whether it was time for the federal agency to step up inspections at the Vernon reactor, given a recent string of minor problems at the plant.
NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan says the agency believes the incidents were unrelated to one another, and that none of them crosses the threshold that warrants increased inspections by the agency. But Miller says most of them had a common element - human error.
Sanders, EPA Tout Vermont Guard's Solar Project , VPR
Sen. Bernie Sanders and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency say the Vermont National Guard is a national model for what other military bases can do to cut their reliance on fossil fuels and become less dependent on foreign oil.
Sanders and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson toured a solar power installation Thursday at the Air Guard Base in South Burlington.
The project was completed in October of last year after Sanders, as chair of the Senate Green Jobs Subcommittee, helped to secure $8.5 million to build it. Today, the 1.45-megawatt project is one of the largest solar installations at any Guard base in the country.
Sanders says that, although the U.S. Defense Department is the leading consumer of energy in the world, Vermont's National Guard has taken the lead in embracing new, locally-produced technology.
photo by Putneypics
FEMA said backing away from Vt. funding promise, WCAX
Vermont officials are expressing frustration and alarm at the lack of certainty surrounding how much money the state will get from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with recovery from Tropical Storm Irene.
Top Shumlin administration officials told lawmakers on Friday the state was expecting to get about 90% of $120 million it needs to replace the Vermont State Hospital and rebuild the state office complex in Waterbury. Both were flooded during the storm.
Deputy Administration Secretary Michael Clasen tells lawmakers new doubts are arising about how much money FEMA will provide, and the same problem appears to extend to FEMA funding for local recovery efforts. Bennington, where the Roaring Branch flooded the downtown during the storm, was told Thursday it won't get FEMA assistance.
Work set to begin on $11.8 million wastewater treatment facility refurbishment in Essex Junction, vermontbiz.com
Trumbull-Nelson Construction of Hanover, NH, and Montpelier, VT was recently awarded the Essex Junction Wastewater Treatment Facility Refurbishment Project contract for $11.8 million. The estimated year-long upgrade is set to begin immediately.
Trumbull-Nelson will be collaborating with the Project’s designer, Aldrich + Elliott, PC, Water Resource Engineers of Essex Junction to oversee the project’s successful completion.
Improvements to the Essex Junction Wastewater Treatment Facility will enable the plant to operate more effectively and to improve compliance with its State operating permit. Work will include the upgrade of primary and secondary clarifiers and aeration tanks, and provide new tertiary filters, sludge dewatering, chemical feed, refurbishment of the two existing digesters, and new grit collector system. Additionally, the scope includes new pumps, SCADA System work, associated mechanical and electrical requirements, and a geothermal well component.
Upsolar unveils 2.2 MW array in Sharon, vermontbiz.com
Upsolar, a leading international provider of solar PV modules, has completed the installation of a 2.2 megawatt solar power facility in Sharon. The Sharon project is composed of 9,562 UP-M230 polycrystalline modules, all backed by the Upsolar’s Reinforced Warranty. Featuring trigger points at years 3, 7, 12, 16, 20 and 25, the company’s Reinforced Warranty ensures its modules will maintain high levels of performance over the long term.
Representatives from Upsolar, Talmage Solar Engineering and Tigo Energy will be on hand for a project commissioning ceremony on August 11, 2012 to be held at 301 Commerce Park Drive, Sharon. Constructed by New England-based Talmage Solar Engineering, Inc, the system incorporates Tigo Energy’s Module Maximizer technology to feed optimized renewable energy directly into the local grid.
New REAP zone grants of $200,000 will rehab low-income homes in NEK for energy efficiency, vermontbiz.com
Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) Tuesday announced $200,000 in grants to housing agencies based in Lyndonville and Newport that will be used to rehabilitate homes owned by very low-income households, including boosting their energy efficiency for further savings for these families. The grants account for a third of all available grants made nationwide under the program.
The grants come from the Rural Development branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Housing Preservation Grant program and were awarded through the Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Program. The decade-old designation of the Northeast Kingdom as one of the nation’s relatively few REAP Zones makes these grants to the NEK possible.
Small wind turbine approved in Derby, Vt., WCAX
Vermont utility regulators have approved a small wind mill for a hilly field in the community of Derby.
The wind mill would become the fourth of its size in town, which is near Canada.
The Caledonian-Record reports (http://bit.ly/LercRN) the Vermont Public Service Board recently granted a certificate of public good for a 140-foot-tall windmill to Michele Judd in Derby. The small turbine with blades of 23 feet in diameter will go up not far from a similar one owned by her father. The turbine has the capacity to generate 10 kilowatts of electricity.
One neighbor opposed the project, raising concerns about noise and aesthetics. But the board found she did not raise "significant" issues about the turbine.
photo by bobw235
Federal ruling could give state officials basis for denying Entergy license to operate Vermont Yankee, vermontbiz.com
A decision issued Friday by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals could change the game for nuclear power plants for spent nuclear fuel.
What the ruling means for the Vermont Yankee facility and ongoing efforts to shutter the plant is up in the air, but some legal experts say the decision could give the state a more solid basis on which to deny an operating license.
In its decision, the court found that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency in charge of regulating nuclear safety, did not adequately analyze environmental effects when it determined in a ruling that spent nuclear fuel can be stored on site for 60 years after a plant’s licence expires. The court also found the agency failed to address the future effect of not establishing a spent nuclear fuel repository when it said a geologic repository for that radioactive waste would be available “when necessary.”
Vermont was a party in the lawsuit over the so-called Waste Confidence Decision along with the New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Vt. wants former factory site on Superfund list, WCAX
State and federal environmental officials want the site of a former factory in Bennington, Vt., to be listed as a Superfund site to allow for more testing and cleanup efforts.
The removal of contaminated soil, wells, storage tanks and transformers at the 36-acre area known as the Jard site was finished in 2007.
The Bennington Banner reports (http://bit.ly/JUy782) officials say since then, tests have shown the spread of polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCBs, in groundwater.
Residents were told Friday that the Environmental Protection Agency will install more monitoring wells to determine the extent of contamination. Testing of 2 homes has showed some contamination. Those homes are being cleaned.Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell said the decision underscores the federal government’s lack of planning for a comprehensive solution to the waste created by nuclear power plants.
Vt. Irene recovery bill at $733M, more work to do, WCAX
Vermont officials say the total cost of recovering from Tropical Storm Irene is estimated at $733 million and the federal government is expected to pay about three quarters of that amount.
Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding says the state expects it will have to pay about $110 million for its share of the repair costs.
Spaulding and other top state officials gave a briefing Thursday on the efforts to recover from the biggest natural disaster in almost a century.
In the immediate aftermath of the Aug. 28 storm, more than 500 miles of roadways and dozens of bridges were damaged or destroyed and thousands of people were forced from their homes.
Now, the roads and bridges are open again, but about 800 are still without permanent, long-term living arrangements.
Vt. gives tax relief to flooded mobile homes, WCAX
The state of Vermont is providing additional tax relief to people whose mobile homes were damaged or destroyed during last year's spring flooding or from Tropical Storm Irene.
To qualify, mobile home owners must meet three criteria:
The owners must be residents of Vermont, the owner's mobile home must have been damaged or destroyed as a result of a 2011 federally declared disaster and the owners must have bought a replacement mobile home between April 2 of last year and June 30 of this year.
For people who meet the criteria, the state will refund any sales and use taxes or property transfer taxes that were paid. Gov. Peter Shumlin says the tax relief is another way to help Vermonters recover from last year's natural disasters.
Commerce Agency Seeks Public Input For Flood Recovery Plan, VPR
Last year, extraordinary floodwaters inundated the homes of some 15,000 Vermonters. But as of the end of last month, only 5,100 had received any housing recovery assistance.
Those are just some of the findings of a disaster recovery action plan being developed by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development that could bring Vermont more than $21.6 million to help individuals and businesses recover.
That much-needed funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would help individuals and businesses still reeling from Tropical Storm Irene and last spring's floods.
"We've assessed to the best of our ability what's out there and tried to assign this money to address some of those critical needs that we know of already," says Josh Hanford, director of the Vermont Community Development program which is still trying to identify the worst hit areas.
Hanford says hearing from the public this month will help his agency tweak how it assigns potential incoming dollars to meet the state's local recovery needs. So far, the agency estimates, there's still $22 million needed to assist businesses; $5.4 million for farms. FEMA estimates there are still more than 1,500 homes that need support estimated to cost nearly $25 million. Some of that need might be covered by other agencies and programs.
Vt. governor signs 'universal recycling' bill, WCAX
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed a new law calling for statewide mandatory recycling to be phased in in Vermont by 2020.
The first mandate would apply to large-volume generators of food waste, who would be required to recycle by 2014. Households would be required to recycle products like paper and plastic by 2015 and yard waste by 2016. All organic matter would be recycled by 2020.
Shumlin and lawmakers say it's the first major change in the state's solid waste law in 25 years, and is designed to address the fact that Vermont currently recycles only a bit more than a third of its waste. Backers of the legislation say that could be increased to two-thirds. Meanwhile, the last two operating landfills in the state are filling up.
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