Paige Kaleita found a surprise in her mail last August: a letter from the Department of Environmental Conservation saying her Richmond neighborhood was out of compliance with stormwater regulations.
鈥淲e all scrambled, started talking and had a big meeting,鈥� she said.
Kaleita and some of her neighbors in the Southview development live on land regulated by what鈥檚 called the 3-acre rule. Put into effect after the passage of the state鈥檚 , the rule requires any site with at least 3 acres of impervious surface, or those that water can鈥檛 pass through, to obtain a stormwater permit if they hadn鈥檛 done so since 2002.
The letters sent to the Richmond residents stated that failure to comply may result in a title encumbrance being placed on the property, impacting the homeowners鈥� ability to sell.
Only some residents of the development live on land that鈥檚 out of compliance. Neighbors just up the hill from Kaleita鈥檚 home, or even a few doors down, didn鈥檛 receive such letters from the department.
鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting it to be around $20,000 per household,鈥� said Kaleita. She鈥檚 frustrated that only the few homeowners who live on 3-acre sites need to foot the bill for upgrades when 鈥渨e all contribute鈥� to stormwater pollution.
Unless the town does agree to take over the permit, there is this responsibility of the homeowners to play a certain role here.Terry Purcell, Department of Environmental Conservation
At a Richmond Selectboard meeting this past September, Terry Purcell of the Department of Environmental Conservation said the state is obligated to make sure regulatory requirements are met.
鈥淯nless the town does agree to take over the permit, there is this responsibility of the homeowners to play a certain role here,鈥� Purcell said.
鈥淲e know not everybody likes them, but it often is what it is,鈥� he added later.
Around 100 of the 700 3-acre sites in Vermont are subdivisions, Purcell told Community News Service. The state doesn鈥檛 know exactly how many people live on those parcels.
Legislators in the House Committee on Environment and Energy put together a bill this year aimed at addressing concerns like those in Richmond. It recently passed the House and moved into the Senate.
The bill, , includes multiple provisions to quell people鈥檚 issues with the current stormwater permitting system, such allowing more time to comply with the 3-acre rule. In addition, it would set up a study to explore creating regional utility districts to take over responsibility for stormwater compliance.
Discussion on the bill earlier this session drew ire from legislators concerned for their constituents impacted by the 3-acre rule.
We lost something when we came to this 3-acre thing, because we are harming people in this state to achieve that.Rep. Chris Pritchard
鈥淲e lost something when we came to this 3-acre thing, because we are harming people in this state to achieve that,鈥� said Rep. Chris Pritchard, R-Pawlet in the House committee. 鈥淚t鈥檚 broken, and it鈥檚 broken badly.鈥�
The rule is the product of a long history of regulations attempting to reduce the amount of phosphorus in Lake Champlain. The federal government placed total daily load limits for phosphorus entering the lake in 2016, and the state鈥檚 Clean Water Act of the same year tasked the Department of Environmental Conservation with addressing stormwater pollution.
Some members of the House committee feel the rule was not fully thought out and is an inefficient method of addressing stormwater pollution.
Rep. Rob North, R-Ferrisburgh, hopes H.481 will address both the concerns of inequity and inefficiency with the 3-acre rule.
鈥淭here are 10 times more efficient ways financially 鈥� Some utility districts could have a huge impact on decreasing phosphorus,鈥� said North in a phone call.
He believes the cost of complying with the rule is too high for the amount of phosphorus pollution it can prevent.
As senators discussed the bill last week, conversation continued on improving the 3-acre rule鈥檚 efficiency.
Catherine Dimitruk of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission suggested legislators consider prioritizing 3-acre sites that are 鈥渉ydrologically connected鈥� 鈥� or directly near a waterway.
鈥淪hould we be prioritizing those that are actually (closer) to direct drainage that is going to actually impact phosphorus, rather than simply prioritizing all of them equally?鈥� Dimitruk asked.
The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.
