Enforcement of state stormwater regulations is likely to some
Vermont towns and cities significant money as they take steps to
halt the pollution of the state’s waterways. It has been a long
time in coming, but at this point more aggressive control of
stormwater pollution is inevitable. One visible reason is the
continuing pollution afflicting Lake Champlain into which most
of the waters on the western side of the state flow. Algae
blooms, fed by the influx of phosphorous, have continued to
choke the lake, damaging its value as a natural resource and a
tourist attraction. Gov. James Douglas took steps to clean up
Lake Champlain, devoting millions of dollars mainly to help
farmers implement measures to avert runoff from their fields.
Nonpoint pollution, as it is called, occurs when fertilizer or
manure is washed into streams from the fields. Farmers who plant
buffers along stream banks and take other steps to avoid
damaging runoff are an important component of any program to
avert pollution in the Champlain wa