§ 1386. Implementation plan for the Lake Champlain total maximum daily load

(a) Within three months after the issuance of a phosphorus total maximum daily load plan (TMDL) for Lake Champlain by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Natural Resources shall update the State of Vermont’s phase I TMDL implementation plan to reflect the elements that the State determines are necessary to meet the allocations established in the final TMDL for Lake Champlain. The update of the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain shall explain how basin plans will be used to implement the updated phase I TMDL implementation plan and shall include a schedule for the adoption of basin plans within the Lake Champlain basin. In addition to the requirements of subsection 1253(d) of this title, a basin plan for a basin within the Lake Champlain basin shall include the following:

(1) phosphorus reduction strategies within the basin that will achieve the State’s obligations under the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain;

(2) a schedule for the issuance of permits to control phosphorus discharges from wastewater treatment facilities as necessary to implement the State’s obligations under the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain;

(3) a schedule for the issuance of permits to control stormwater discharges as necessary to implement the State’s obligations under the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain;

(4) wetland and river corridor restoration and protection projects that will achieve the State’s obligations under the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain;

(5) a table of nonpoint source activities that will achieve the State’s obligations under the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain; and

(6) other strategies and activities that the Secretary determines to be necessary to achieve the State’s obligations under the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain.

(b) The Secretary shall develop and implement a method of tracking and accounting for actions implemented to achieve the Lake Champlain TMDL.

(c) Prior to finalizing the update to the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain, the Secretary shall provide notice to the public of the proposed revisions and a comment period of no less than 30 days.

(d) On or before January 15 in the year following issuance of the updated phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain under subsection (a) of this section and every four years thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the House Committee on Environment and Energy, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry, and the Senate Committee on Agriculture regarding the execution of the updated phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain. The report shall include:

(1) A summary of the efforts undertaken to implement the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain.

(2) An assessment of the implementation plan for the Lake Champlain TMDL based on available data, including an evaluation of the efficacy of the phase I TMDL implementation plan for Lake Champlain.

(e) Beginning on January 15, 2019, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall report the status of Lake Champlain total maximum daily load implementation plan milestones, phase 2 and beyond, identified in tactical basin plan implementation tables for each basin due for an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency interim or final report card in accordance with the TMDL Accountability Framework schedule. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), expiration of required reports, shall not apply to the report to be made under this subsection. (Added 2007, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 12, 2008; amended 2011, No. 138 (Adj. Sess.), § 32, eff. May 14, 2012; 2015, No. 64, § 36; 2017, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 20, eff. May 21, 2018; 2021, No. 170 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 1, 2022.)