Vermont S 216: An act relating to allowing large municipal employers to provide Exchange and reflective health benefit plans to their employees

Bill Text

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S.216 1
Introduced by Senator Watson 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Conservation and development; water quality; restoration; general 5
permit 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill would require that the 7
Secretary of Natural Resources adopt by rule on or before December 1, 2027, a 8
general permit for ecological restoration projects for waters of the State. The 9
bill also would require the Department of Environmental Conservation Dam 10
Safety Program in coordination with stakeholders to examine the 11
environmental review process required for a dam order needed for repair or 12
rehabilitation of existing dams and consider what, and to what extent, other 13
factors should be considered before a dam order for repair is granted. 14
An act relating to ecological restoration projects on waters of the State 15
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 16
Sec. 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE 17
(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that: 18
(1) Vermont’s natural landscape has been influenced by humans for 19
centuries, but, since European settlement, much of the infrastructure, such as 20

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dams, old roads, berms, undersized culverts, bridges, and mines, causes long-1
term negative impacts on natural and human communities long after the 2
intended use and in some cases past a safe threshold of functionality. 3
(2) Over the last two centuries, human channel management practices, 4
such as riverbank armoring, straightening, dredging, and berming, have created 5
a degraded condition in many Vermont rivers and streams where flows are 6
largely kept within the channel, resulting in increased stream power, reduced 7
access to floodplains, and increased erosion hazards and flood damages. 8
(3) As Vermont experiences a rapidly warming climate, implementation 9
of water restoration projects can help prevent public harm and property 10
damage while also working to address and reverse some of the direct causes of 11
impairment by restoring natural processes such as sediment transport, 12
floodplain function, water flow and filtration, soil stabilization, nutrient 13
cycling, and native species interaction and succession. 14
(4) Restored stream and river systems can attenuate flood waters, filter 15
stormwater, store carbon, and provide habitat refuge for diverse species. 16
Protecting these natural systems will best prepare us to adapt for our future. 17
Improved conditions for species diversity within an ecosystem enhances its 18
stability and ability to recover from disturbance. 19
(5) Dam removal projects are river restoration projects that offer many 20
benefits to flood resilience, public safety, aquatic habitat, stream equilibrium, 21

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water quality, and recreation. Studies have found that the long-term ecological 1
benefits, such as improved water quality and temperature, natural sediment 2
transport, and resident and migratory species passage and recovery, 3
demonstrate that dam removal is an effective long-term river restoration tool. 4
(6) The Vermont General Assembly enacted 2024 Acts and Resolves 5
No. 121, known as the Flood Safety Act, that requires a State policy of a net 6
gain of wetlands to be achieved through protection of existing wetlands and 7
restoration of wetlands that were previously adversely affected. 8
(7) Ecological restoration is prioritized in numerous State and regional 9
plans, including Vermont’s Climate Action Plan, the Resilience 10
Implementation Strategy, Vermont Conservation Design, the State Wildlife 11
Action Plan, and Lake Champlain Basin Program’s Opportunities for Action. 12
(8) By reducing the impacts of flooding on communities and 13
infrastructure, river and stream restoration projects can also reduce the damage 14
caused by increasingly frequent flooding and the cost of repairs and recovery 15
while reducing the costs of delays. 16
(9) The development review process for water restoration projects 17
results in significant delays and adds unnecessary costs. As these types of 18
projects are often publicly funded, the goal is to limit the strain on these 19
resources and complete as many water restoration projects as possible with 20

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these limited funds to make communities as flood and drought resilient as 1
possible. 2
(b) Purpose. 3
(1) The damage from the devastating floods of 2023 and 2024 was 4
compounded by centuries of human activities that have led to the degradation 5
of Vermont’s rivers and their surrounding watersheds. There is a need to 6
restore the natural functions of waters of the State and the associated 7
floodplains and wetlands in order to address flood and drought resiliency, 8
water quality degradation, and biodiversity decline. 9
(2) Despite this need, w