Williston Observer 11/25/2020 by Williston Observer

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NOVEMBER 25, 2020

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State launches payment for phosphorous reduction program

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School budget on pace for 3.7 percent increase

Water quality incentive complements ‘Required Agricultural Practices’

BY JASON STARR Observer staff After ramping up inspections and enforcement of water quality violations on Vermont farms since the 2015 passage of the Vermont Clean Water Act, the Agency of Agriculture is launching a positive reinforcement approach next year. Under a pilot program funded through a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture — the first of its kind in the country — Vermont dairy farmers can be paid for phosphorous reduction on their land, recognizing their contribution to improving water quality. Phosphorous from cow manure is the largest contributor to water quality degradation in the Champlain Valley and one of the root causes of algae overgrowth in Lake Champlain. Through farming, impervious land development and wastewater treatment capacity problems over centuries, the lake has built up phosphorous that will take decades to reduce, especially if climate change continues to increase heavy precipitation events, according to Ryan Patch, water quality division assistant director at the Agency of Agriculture. “We have a legacy phosphorous issue,” Patch said. “Even if we were able to shut everything off in all sectors in a particular watershed, the legacy phosphorous that is at the bottom of the bays is going to continue to cycle and release. It’s a problem that can persist for decades, even if you are able to shut the tap off.” Reducing phosphorous from farms is seen as the most cost-effective way to clean the basin’s water, with more bang for the buck than stormwater retention and wastewater system upgrades — although the state is investing in those areas as well. According to Patch, over the last three years, 97 percent of phosphorous reduction in the Champlain basin has come from improvements on farms. “There is a lot of opportunity to do things better,” said Williston dairy farmer Lorenzo Whitcomb, “All these fields we have can work

BY JASON STARR Observer staff

mont at the forefront in demonstrating … an approach to environmental protection in which the community benefits of well-managed resources are measured, and land owners are paid by the unit, as they would be for other goods or services,” it said. Already the agricultural industry has achieved measurable phosphorous reduction through the requirements of the Clean Water Act. Last year, the industry collectively

The Champlain Valley School District budget is on pace for a $3 million (3.7 percent) increase in the coming fiscal year to $84.4 million, according to a first draft outlook delivered to school board members last week. Spending per student is set to rise $579 (3.5 percent) to $17,164. Chief Operations Officer Jeanne Jensen presented the outlook during last Tuesday’s school board meeting, noting that the spending increase is needed just to keep pace with rising costs, not to add any new staff or programs. Staff health insurance is expected to rise nearly 10 percent, she said, as is general liability and workers compensation insurance. Administrators are estimating a rise in teacher salaries, although negotiations between the board and the teachers union on a contract for next fiscal year is in the early stages. “This is a model that says we want to continue the programs we have in place today,” Jensen said. The budget follows a multiyear plan to spend down the district’s $2.3 million surplus. The district plans to use $700,000 of the surplus as budget revenue in the coming fiscal year. According to Jensen, nearly $600,000 accrued to the surplus during the fiscal year that ended in June because of pandemic-related school shutdowns last spring. “We just weren’t in school to spend money, so we ended up in a little bit better position,” she said. The budget will be further refined over the coming weeks as the board works toward a recommendation to place on Town Meeting Day ballots for voter approval in March.

see STATEpage 9

see BUDGET page 2

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture hopes a new payment program helps reduce phosphorous pollution in Lake Champlain. OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR

as giant filters and filter out a lot of nutrients before it gets into the water.” Whitcomb is not sure yet if he will apply for the new payment for phosphorous reduction program. He meets monthly with other Champlain Valley farmers as the Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition to discuss best practices. The program will pay farmers just to submit an application, Patch said. If phosphorous reduction can be verified beyond what farmers are already required to reduce under

the Clean Water Act, they will receive a direct payment. Payments will be based on computer modeling of how many pounds of phosphorous is being reduced. “Setting that rate for a pound of phosphorous is the big question,” Patch said. “The price has not been set and will be set on an annual basis. Payments could be a significant amount.” Sen. Patrick Leahy announced the new program in an October press release. “This program will put Ver-