What We’re Watching in Montpelier - Key Bills, Rules, and Reports

As the legislative session begins in Montpelier, LCC is tracking several bills and monitoring agencies’ implementation of laws passed in recent years with important implications for Lake Champlain. Here is a summary of what we’re watching, with links to track future developments:

Road Salt: S.218 is the “new and improved” version of the road salt reduction bill the legislature considered in 2025. It would establish a Chloride Reduction Program at Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to reduce the impacts of chloride contamination from excessive use of road salt, thereby reducing the salinity of Vermont waters and Lake Champlain. This would be accomplished through a voluntary education program that would establish best management practices for commercial and municipal applicators, educate the public on the harms of excessive salt application, track salt use in the state, and, as an incentive to participate, provide limited liability protection for commercial and municipal applicators. As of the time of this note, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources has recommended passage, and the Senate has referred the bill to the Committee on Finance. 

Here is a link to track its progress: S.218 – An act relating to reducing chloride contamination of State waters. 

Lake Protection and Water Quality: Two bills aimed at lake protection have been introduced in the Senate. The overall focus is on inland lakes rather than Vermont’s interstate and international waterbodies – but certain important protections would apply to Lake Champlain. S.224 would introduce new restrictions on wakeboats, which are motorboats with ballast tanks or other design features designed to increase the motorboat’s wake. To stem the transport of aquatic nuisance species, the proposed law would require wakeboat operators to decontaminate the wakeboat, including emptying its ballast tanks, prior to waterbody other than its designated “home lake” for the year. S.224 would also expand availability of aquatic nuisance information and inspection stations at fishing access areas. A second bill, S.223, would create a study group to evaluate Vermont’s framework for regulating water quality and lake classification and establishing antidegradation requirements. Separately, H.731 was introduced in the House to create a new surface water classification system for inland lakes and ponds as well as establishing antidegradation standards. LCC will be following these bills as they progress through the legislature to be sure that Lake Champlain is protected in ways that are appropriate for particular lake segments.

Links to track bills: 

• H.731 – An act relating to the water quality of the State.
• S.223 – An act relating to water quality of the waters of Vermont
• S.224 – An act relating to the management of the State’s lakes

Wetlands and Flood Safety: Wetlands are among the most powerful and overlooked defenses against climate change. They slow floodwaters, filter pollution, store water during droughts, and provide critical habitat for wildlife. The Vermont legislature acknowledged this when it passed Act 121, the Flood Safety Act (FSA) in 2024, and required the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to update its Wetlands Rule in 2025 to ensure a net gain of wetlands. Instead, following Governor Scott’s issuance of an Executive Order in the fall of 2025 intended to expedite housing development, the DEC issued a proposed revision of its Wetlands Rule that would reduce wetlands buffers from 50 feet to 25 and allow unmapped wetlands to be developed for housing construction in certain growth areas. The new rule did not include provisions to implement the FSA even though the changes are already overdue. LCC and our advocacy partners filed comments expressing concern about the proposed rule, and we will continue to be engaged in discussions with the agency on this issue as well as weighing in on any legislation that may be proposed to weaken the FSA and its wetlands protection requirements.

Link to DEC Website on Wetlands Rulemaking

Agricultural Water Quality Enforcement: In 2025, the Vermont legislature passed Act 67, a first step in addressing longstanding concerns about inadequate enforcement of water pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs. The law stemmed from a 2022 petition LCC filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) along with our partners the Conservation Law Foundation and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. We argued that the current dual jurisdiction over enforcement of water quality standards by the Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (AAFM) and the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) results in discharge of nutrients from farm fields to the waters of Vermont in violation of the Clean Water Act. Act 67 shifts primary CAFO permitting authority to ANR and requires state standards at least as strict as current federal requirements. It also sets up a stakeholder process about how to make Vermont’s CAFO program clear for all involved and protective of Vermont’s waters. LCC is participating in the stakeholder process and continuing to watch as ANR moves forward to implement Act 67.

Link to CAFO Stakeholder Group Website.

Phosphorus Reductions for Lake Champlain: As explained in LCC’s January 2026 Lake Look, LCC has long been tracking Vermont’s work to reduce phosphorus pollution in Lake Champlain to comply with the 2016 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) the EPA established in 2016. On January 15, 2026, Vermont issued its Clean Water Initiative 2025 Performance Report.

The Lake Champlain Committee’s Clean Lake Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) is a cadre of community members we can call on to speak out for the lake when opportunities for comment arise. Learn more about getting involved with CLEAN here. By watching and evaluating the state’s progress on important lake protection issues, we can help ensure healthy and accessible waters for generations to come.