The incoming leader of Vermont's environmental agency says there is one factor that has made water quality issues more complicated over the years: climate change.
Julie Moore was secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources by Governor-elect Phil Scott.
Moore told that more frequent, intense storms caused by global warming are exacerbating the pollution problems in Lake Champlain.
"Within the last 18 months, we've seen record high and record low lake levels," Moore said. "And those sorts of swings produce different challenges for management."
Moore says her work in the Missisquoi Bay watershed shows that targeting cleanup efforts in the most sensitive landscapes get to better results than spreading resources everywhere.
Resource allocation will be a big question going forward for Lake Champlain's cleanup. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates it will cost $1.3 billion over two decades to restore water quality in the lake.
Listen to the full interview from Vermont Edition above.
