Setting Vernon's Table

Instructions from the wordy writer:

I completely understand that the following piece is a challenging read. Knowing this, prior to publishing it I  ran it past past a few people already familiar with some of the subject matter. They confirmed my suspicions saying, "Sometimes its best to start with the ending."  So with this in mind, kindly read the ending prior to reading the essay in its entirety. 

Introduction: 

One of Vernon's most endearing qualities is that it is not Burlington. Before I lose a whole bunch of readers, please allow me to explain how I put this thought together and why I think that it is imperative that our town focuses on it.  

It is quite confusing for a novice such as myself to listen to soundbites of information put out by various representatives of the state and those professionals working in the fields of natural resources. I readily admit that digging deeper into the matter only serves to conjure up more questions. 

The Issue With Information: 

Take for instance, the hundreds of millions of dollars spent to clean up Lake Champlain. Did I say millions? What I meant to say is that way back in January of 2017, the Burlington Free Press ran this article stating that, "...the total estimated price tag over the next 20 years could exceed $1billion." 

Now, Vernon's long timers may very well remember that thirty three years ago in 1990, the Lake Champlain Special Designation Act , sponsored by Senators Leahy and Jeffords among others, was signed. (Perhaps some of you have visited the ECHO Leahy Center?)  The LCSDA "specifically required examination of water quality, fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, recreational and cultural resource issues." Indeed, the Lake Champlain Basin Program was born out of this Act; and by 2021, $105 million dollars had been allocated to this partnership between the EPA, VT, MA, and Canada. But that's not all, additional entities were born out of LCBP  and millions more were spent on the health of the lake. 

So far the process seems fairly linear. Form a coalition to examine lake health and perform public outreach. Discover that there is an issue and so form subgroups and release funds to take on those issues. Funds are generated from state and federal taxes and from "pay to play." Vernon's Vermont Yankee committed to $7 million (2011) for example as compared to TDI New England's $202 million commitment* (2015).

The reality is, that the funding aspect of restoring clean water is anything but linear, it is in fact interwoven throughout many entities and utterly mind boggling. ** 

When Linear Become Circular: 

Now I know very well that many of you screaming at your device for wanting me to bring my point home. And so I find it personally amusing that in this 2010 VT Digger article, "Gov's presser on video: Hydro-Quebec deal, Vermont Yankee, Lake Champlain cleanup, declining tax revenues" by Anne Galloway, the reporter in this interview, throws the entire trashcan at Governor Douglas. Please read this article, for serendipitously, this is the report that kept showing up each time I searched the facets of lake cleanup.  We have all heard of the food web; but have we actually stopped to examine the web that is created when our cumulative consumption overwhelms our resources? 

What if I were to tell you that in all of these years of knowing about the problem, understanding the causes of the problem and all of the efforts to clean up the problem, it has brought us to the very same point as Burlington's completing their five year plan to build an additional 1,250 new houses by 2026. And what if in the same instance, you understood that development is identified as a major contributor to waterways and lake pollution. How then are we to hope to clean up our, "great lake" when one of the major players on her shores is also focused on meeting other demands? 

Municipalities in the Lake Champlain basin have exceeded that resource's carrying capacity. Those municipalities are in the midst of remediating the lake's issues even as they continue to develop and redevelop the land.

Indeed, one of the most endearing qualities of Vernon is that we are not Burlington.

The Table

I am in no way boasting that I'm a regular attendee of meetings here in Vernon. Vernon after all, has a plethora of boards, committees and commissions, all of which meet on a regular basis. In fact, though I have lived here since 2004, other than paying my taxes, I am very new to serving this community.

 I began Vernon Vermont Nature Finds in 2021 and from there I found  my desire to serve last March of 2022. Writing Nature finds led to my membership on the Vernon Conservation Commission. Other than that I have attended the occasional strategic planning meeting and always the annual town meetings in March. And hey folks, it looks by way of the town meeting 2023 warning, that discussing trash disposal has simmered down a bit...we shall see. 

Be it as it may, I did recently attend a public meeting on the Vernon Recreation Master Plan. It was during this meeting that one participant noted the small attendance and questioned why that was. Another attendee mentioned during the meeting that they were tired of all of the meetings in town and wanted to get something done. Yet a third person contributed that all of the public in attendance were currently serving on commissions, boards and or committees. For my part, I suggested that what we needed was a bit of good old fashioned controversy to spark public interest. 

Well Here Goes:

You may not know this, but Vernon is undergoing a housing boom to a scale not seen since the 70's. Ok, so I am being slightly dramatic here; but isn't that how all good controversy starts? To further exacerbate matters, of the hundreds of  land parcels that make up Vernon, as of 2018, the map shows 27 of those parcels were green (low intensity) "undeveloped".  I found this information on this map posted on Vernon, VT's town website. It causes me to wonder how many of those 27 green parcels remain "undeveloped" five years later, how many will there be in five more years?

I'm not claiming that all development or redevelopment is bad for the environment. But I am saying that it is imperative that we / Vernon proceed with great caution and well thought out plans. Windham County learned this lesson well with tropical storm Irene. Our own Planning Commission like all VT municipalities, is engaged with experts to develop flood mitigation plans. What I am saying is that I want you to remember the basic rule of thumb; that impervious surfaces create water runoff and water runoff not only has the potential to cause flooding, but often delivers pollution directly to our resources. I know, I know, I'm oversimplifying the impacts; but as I mentioned before, it's a mind boggling complicated web.

I'm going to amend my initial statement to: One of Vernon's most important qualities is that we aren't Brattleboro, Keene, Greenfield or soon to be Hinsdale. We still have a chance to attend the meetings, engage in the process, plan for open land, recreational land, farm land, healthy land. And best of all, in addition to what we have set aside, we as a community, still have the chance to participate in the reimagining of the former Vermont Yankee site currently being remediated at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.****

Yes it is important that we get out and vote this March; but it's vital that we personally engage in the planning processes that lead to the items being voted on. The joke used to be, "Don't Jersey Vermont" now it's become something closer to home and as Wayne said, now we all have work to do. -Norma Manning

* Vermont could get 720 Million for Lake Champlain Power Lines, Seven Days

*Nuclear plant gain disputed 

**Funding for the LCBP , Introduction- Lake Champlain Basin Program

***Burlington's Mayor Announces Housing Action Plan

****As Vernon approves  plans for Vermont Yankee site, questions remain about future of nuclear waste