State overhauls stormwater laws: CLF plays key role.

• Position: Vermont; Conservation Law Foundation - Brief Article

THE VERMONT LEGISLATURE has rewritten state stormwater laws in an effort to protect water quality in the growth ring around Burlington, where rivers and brooks run into Lake Champlain. The new law is the first of its kind in the country and adopts a framework for which CLF has been advocating for 6 years. Where sprawling development defines the landscape, stormwater runs off parking lots and roads and is piped into streams and rivers, taking with it oils, chemicals and other toxic substances.

The new law requires strict on-site control of polluted stormwater runoff and requires the polluting business to ensure it has no negative effects on surface waters. Sites with large parking lots, for example...