On May 21, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NY DEC) announced its intent to rescind a Negative Declaration and Notice of Complete Application for an air pollution permit in the Port of Albany. Global Companies LLC of Massachusetts had sought a state air pollution permit modification so it could install an oil-heating facility. Read...
News from Selected Month
In July of 2013 LCC lamented that it might take at least six months before a study of invasive species barriers in the Champlain Canal at the southern end of the lake might begin. The delay has been significantly more than six months and it is now unclear when any study will begin. Read...
Before adjourning for the year the Vermont House and Senate agreed on the terms of a key water quality bill. The legislation was a major LCC priority and we thank Governor Shumlin, Vermont environmental agencies, legislators and activists that helped bring the water quality bill to fruition this session. Read...
For eight of the last nine months the lake level has been below average level (based on the average from 1970 to 2011). The only break in the period since last September has been a wet spell in January, but by the end of that month the lake had once again receded. During spring runoff, the lake usually reaches about 98.5 feet above sea level. Read...
Love the water? Join in an informative, engaging celebration of lakes at the Vermont-hosted New England Chapter of the North American Lake Management Society Conference (NEC NALMS). The NEC NALMS Conference will take place in Burlington, along the shores of Lake Champlain at the Main Street Landing and Performing Arts Center in Burlington, VT on May 29 and 30. Read...
Read more about the new Lake Champlain Gage, Great Lakes Scientists Gathering in Burlington, Lake Flooding Studies, Trout Stocking, and Toxic Driveways! Read...
The Lake Champlain Committee and three conservation organizations from the Adirondack Park and Champlain Valley praised a decision by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to rescind its 2014 decision not to require a full environmental impact statement from a company seeking permission to import heavy crude oil from Canada. Read...
The Transportation Department recently released new emergency rules in response to a series of fiery rail crashes of trains carrying crude oil from the Bakken Fields of North Dakota. Read...
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released a report on the effectiveness of wastewater treatment facilities at removing microbeads. The report found microbeads in effluent of 25 of 34 New York wastewater plants sampled, demonstrating that they are not removed by standard wastewater processing, but instead pass into the environment. Read...
What's worse than picking up dog poop?
Stepping in it.
What's worse than stepping in dog poop?
Swimming or fishing in or drinking water with dog poop in it.Read...
The water quality bill in Montpelier passed the full House on April 2 by a vote of 133-11. The bill has since been amended and approved by the Senate Natural Resources Committee on a vote of 4-1 with the lone dissenter calling for even stronger regulation of forestry practices. Read...
Help assess Lake Champlain water conditions around the lake as a blue-green algae monitor! <link get-involved volunteers bgamonitors blue-green-algae-monitor-interest-form>Complete our blue-green algae monitor form if you're interested in monitoring during the 2015 season or want to attend a training session to learn more about the lake. Feel free to share this invite with other lake lovers. Read...
Over the last three years the Lake Champlain Committee has been collecting data in a study to determine the effectiveness of agricultural best management practices. The study, led by Stone Environmental, measures run-off from two nearby farm fields at each of six sites then applies a best management practice to one of the fields. Read...
Sometimes increasing society’s resilience to future floods means abandoning things we built in the past. Following Tropical Storm Irene there have been at least 30 flood-prone properties purchased with an additional 67 buyouts planned. Read...
Spring flooding presents a challenge to the trees living along rivers. They risk root death due to water -logged soils and don’t yet have their leaves to produce oxygen to pump down to the roots. Read...
Stowe Doodie Day, Friday Bird Walks in May with LCC, Way to Go week and Blue-green Algae Monitor Training! Read...
Dead Fish – A Sign of Spring, Albany Advances Money for Water, EPA Forwards Water Rule, Using Satellites to Monitor Algae Blooms, Goldfish Threaten Colorado Lake, California Water Crisis and more... Read...
Here are a few ideas for how to celebrate our planet and the corner we call home from your friends at LCC. Read...
On March 17 nearly 200 water quality activists gathered at the Vermont State House in Montpelier to call for strong water quality protections and stable ongoing funding for water projects. During a press conference held during the day a farmer, angler, sailing educator and members of watershed groups all urged action to protect and restore waterways across the state. Read...
On March 23 Vermont and Quebec recommitted to working jointly on lake management issues. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Quebec Premier Phillippe Couillard signed a Memorandum of Understanding pledging their governments to cooperative lake management. Read...
LCC has received a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to map and manage populations of floating leaved invasive plants, water chestnut and European frog-bit, in the northern portion of Lake Champlain. Read...
In the last few months courts in Washington State and Iowa have ruled that manure can be a pollutant. While many may see these decisions as obvious, manure has more frequently been considered a resource rather than a pollutant. In reality it can be both. Read...
There is no poop fairy. That’s the ingenious marketing message used around the Denver, CO area to nudge irresponsible pet owners to begin taking care of their dogs’ waste. Their public service announcement notes, "Like the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, the fabled poop fairy has been the stuff of legend. Read...
Emergency actions alleviate immediate problems but can create long-term vulnerabilities. That happened in Rutland when flooding threatened the cities drinking water supply, but the quick work to protect it created vulnerability to future floods. Read...
April showers bring May flowers, or so the proverb goes. April on average is a wetter month than March, though not as wet as May. As sunlight strengthens in spring the air gets warmer, and there is an abundance of moisture in the form of snow and ice ready to evaporate and fall again as rain. However, it turns out this moisture may not be the most important factor in determining when spring flowers bloom. Read...
As the snow banks slowly recede they unveil the last five months’ detritus. From leaves to old newspapers to cans to dog waste to road sand, all of this will end up in the nearest stream without some help. It’s time for spring cleaning. Read...
Snowkiting on Lake Champlain, Water Pollution and Microbead Bans Signed into Law in New Jersey and Colorado. Read...
Two more fiery train derailments this month highlight the vulnerability of people, wildlife and waterways from the dramatic increase of crude oil transport by rail. The latest debacle has added pressure to improve rail transportation of flammable liquids. Read...
On February 20 in Montpelier the House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee recommended H. 35, the water quality bill by a vote of 7-2. The bill still needs approval from the Agriculture and Ways and Means Committees before heading to the House floor. Meanwhile a companion bill is wending its way through the Senate. Read...
The National Weather Service announced on Monday, February 16, 2015, that Lake Champlain is completely covered in ice. Remarkably, this is the second year in a row that the ice has extended over the entire lake surface (last year it closed February 12). Read...