2017 Vermont Statutes
Title 10 - Conservation and Development
Chapter 47 - Water Pollution Control
§ 1389 Clean Water Fund Board

§ 1389. Clean Water Fund Board

(a) Creation. There is created the Clean Water Fund Board which shall recommend to the Secretary of Administration expenditures from the Clean Water Fund. The Clean Water Fund Board shall be attached to the Agency of Administration for administrative purposes.

(b) Organization of the Board. The Clean Water Fund Board shall be composed of:

(1) the Secretary of Administration or designee;

(2) the Secretary of Natural Resources or designee;

(3) the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets or designee;

(4) the Secretary of Commerce and Community Development or designee; and

(5) the Secretary of Transportation or designee.

(c) Officers; committees; rules. The Clean Water Fund Board shall annually elect a chair from its members. The Clean Water Fund Board may elect additional officers from its members, establish committees or subcommittees, and adopt procedural rules as necessary and appropriate to perform its work.

(d) Powers and duties of the Clean Water Fund Board. The Clean Water Fund Board shall have the following powers and authority:

(1) The Clean Water Fund Board shall recommend to the Secretary of Administration the appropriate allocation of funds from the Clean Water Fund for the purposes of developing the State budget required to be submitted to the General Assembly under 32 V.S.A. § 306. All recommendations from the Board should be intended to achieve the greatest water quality gain for the investment.

(2) The Clean Water Fund Board may pursue and accept grants, gifts, donations, or other funding from any public or private source and may administer such grants, gifts, donations, or funding consistent with the terms of the grant, gift, or donation.

(3) The Clean Water Fund Board shall:

(A) establish a process by which watershed organizations, State agencies, and other interested parties may propose water quality projects or programs for financing from the Clean Water Fund;

(B) develop an annual revenue estimate and proposed budget for the Clean Water Fund;

(C) establish measures for determining progress and effectiveness of expenditures for clean water restoration efforts;

(D) issue the annual Clean Water Investment Report required under section 1389a of this title; and

(E) solicit, consult with, and accept public comment from organizations interested in improving water quality in Vermont regarding recommendations under this subsection for the allocation of funds from the Clean Water Fund.

(e) Priorities.

(1) In making recommendations under subsection (d) of this section regarding the appropriate allocation of funds from the Clean Water Fund, the Board shall prioritize:

(A) funding to programs and projects that address sources of water pollution in waters listed as impaired on the list of waters established by 33 U.S.C. § 1313(d);

(B) funding to projects that address sources of water pollution identified as a significant contributor of water quality pollution, including financial assistance to grant recipients at the initiation of a funded project;

(C) funding to programs or projects that address or repair riparian conditions that increase the risk of flooding or pose a threat to life or property;

(D) assistance required for State and municipal compliance with stormwater requirements for highways and roads;

(E) funding for education and outreach regarding the implementation of water quality requirements, including funding for education, outreach, demonstration, and access to tools for the implementation of the Acceptable Management Practices for Maintaining Water Quality on Logging Jobs in Vermont, as adopted by the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation;

(F) funding for innovative or alternative technologies or practices designed to improve water quality or reduce sources of pollution to surface waters, including funding for innovative nutrient removal technologies and community-based methane digesters that utilize manure, wastewater, and food residuals to produce energy;

(G) funding to purchase agricultural land in order to take that land out of practice when the State water quality requirements cannot be remediated through agricultural Best Management Practices; and

(H) funding to municipalities for the establishment and operation of stormwater utilities.

(2) In developing its recommendations under subsection (d) of this section regarding the appropriate allocation of funds from the Clean Water Fund, the Clean Water Fund Board shall, during the first three years of its existence and within the priorities established under subdivision (1) of this subsection (e), prioritize awards or assistance to municipalities for municipal compliance with water quality requirements, and to municipalities for the establishment and operation of stormwater utilities.

(3) In developing its recommendations under subsection (d) of this section regarding the appropriate allocation of funds from the Clean Water Fund, the Board shall, after satisfaction of the priorities established under subdivision (1) of this subsection (e), attempt to provide for equitable apportionment of awards from the Fund to all regions of the State and for control of all sources of point and non-point sources of pollution in the State.

(f) The Clean Water Fund Board shall have the administrative, technical, and legal assistance of the Agency of Administration, the Agency of Natural Resources, the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, the Agency of Transportation, and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development for those issues or services within the jurisdiction of the respective agency. The cost of the services provided by agency staff shall be paid from the budget of the agency providing the staff services. (Added 2015, No. 64, § 37, eff. June 16, 2015; amended 2015, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 33, eff. June 2, 2016; 2017, No. 74, § 16a.)