Greetings all!
Following is a letter I am submitting to the Town Manager and the Select Board.
It was prompted by a colleague's notification there are cows meandering upstream in the Lamoille River. We have many challenges to water quality. Each one, however seemingly small, have an impact. None are too small to overlook.
Best to all,
Colchester has diligently pursed
through policy and practice protection of 27 miles of Lake Champlain shoreline
within her municipal boundaries. We are
a leader in shoreline regulation and, as such, the State of Vermont, in
recognition of Colchester's rigorous standards, granted Colchester delegation after the passage of the 2014 Shoreland
Protection Act. Our Director of Planning and Zoning, Sarah
Hadd, and her staff have worked tirelessly to ensure we are in compliance with
Federal Floodplain Regulations. We are
an MS4 community and, under the direction of our Public Works Director, Bryan
Osborne, we continue to meet and indeed exceed the requirements for that
program. Colchester is a leader in
addressing water quality issues and we recently completed an exhaustive
Integrated Water Research Management study.
I have been involved as a citizen
volunteer on the Conservation Commission and the Planning Commission as well as
a shoreline owner and concerned Colchester resident with the water quality of
Lake Champlain. Over the years, the most
consistent complaint I hear from my neighbors and the public at large has been
the perceived unfair onus placed upon
shoreline communities while exempting the upstream agricultural contribution.
As an attendee this past summer
at the Champlain Valley Farmer's Coalition in Charlotte, I was encouraged by
the measures in place and proposed to address the Total Maximum Daily Load
through Best Management Practices for farmers.
The following is an excerpt from
the Lake Champlain Action Plan as
prepared by the United Sates Department of Agriculture:
"The Total Maximum Daily
Load (TMDL) is under revision, with an expectation of increased regulations and
inspections on all farms, and will likely include the following
· Require 25' buffers on all perennial streams
· Limit soil erosion to "T" on all fields
· Require gully stabilization
· Exclude
livestock from eroding stream banks (my bold emphasis added)
· Require nutrient management plans for all livestock
farms
· Require small farm certification of compliance with
state regulations
In February, 2014, the Vermont
Agency of Agriculture, in cooperation with Natural Resource Conservation Service
in Vermont, directed all producers to NRCS to seek funding for agronomic
practices (previously, producers were supported through the state for these
practices)."
As a steward of the land and
lake, I personally appeal to my Milton neighbor, Owner of property located on West Milton Road
on the North side of the Lamoille River, downstream from the bridge on Bear
Trap Road to reconsider his farming
practices and seek a solution to remedy his livestock wading in the Lamoille
River, a direct tributary to Lake Champlain.
As member of a wider community
concerned with Lake Champlain water quality, I appeal to the Vermont Agency of Natural
Resources, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, the Natural Resource Conservation
Service in Vermont, the United States
Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency to intercede
on our behalf to resolve this issue.
I am requesting the Select Board
and Town Manager to take my concerns into consideration and proceed with the
appropriate Agencies as they deem fit.
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