Vermont H 652: An act relating to physician assistant licensure by endorsement

Bill Text

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.652
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VT LEG #385582 v.1
H.652 1
Introduced by Representatives Page of Newport City, Labor of Morgan, 2
Campbell of St. Johnsbury, Cina of Burlington, Donahue of 3
Northfield, Galfetti of Barre Town, Hango of Berkshire, Harple 4
of Glover, Holcombe of Norwich, Kascenska of Burke, 5
Kleppner of Burlington, McFaun of Barre Town, Mrowicki of 6
Putney, Ode of Burlington, Olson of Starksboro, Pinsonault of 7
Dorset, Pouech of Hinesburg, Sibilia of Dover, Sweeney of 8
Shelburne, Wells of Brownington, and White of Waitsfield 9
Referred to Committee on 10
Date: 11
Subject: Conservation and development; water quality; discharges; landfills 12
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit the 13
discharge of leachate from a landfill or a solid waste management facility into 14
the watershed of Lake Memphremagog regardless of whether the leachate has 15
been treated or is untreated. The bill would prohibit both direct discharge from 16
a landfill or a solid waste management facility and the transfer of the leachate 17
to a wastewater treatment facility in the watershed of Lake Memphremagog for 18
discharge. 19
An act relating to wastewater discharges from landfills 20

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VT LEG #385582 v.1
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1
Sec. 1. FINDINGS 2
The General Assembly finds that: 3
(1) Lake Memphremagog is of integral importance to Vermont and 4
Quebec as the lake: 5
(A) is the largest body of water in northeastern Vermont and 6
southeastern Quebec; 7
(B) provides over 175,000 individuals with drinking water in the 8
municipalities of Sherbrooke, Magog, Potton, and Saint-Benoît-du-Lac; 9
(C) is an important economic driver in northeastern Vermont and 10
southeastern Canada, drawing individuals and resources for its beautiful 11
landscapes and numerous recreational opportunities; and 12
(D) is a precious natural resource and habitat for fish and wildlife. 13
(2) Vermont environmental agencies need to take on a greater role in the 14
oversight and restriction of discharges that may cause impairments to northerly 15
flowing Lake Memphremagog as more than 100 permanent or intermittent 16
tributaries feed the Lake, including the Black River in Coventry, with 71 17
percent of the watershed located in Vermont. 18
(3) Prior to the issuance of the Act 250 permit to New England Waste 19
Services of Vermont in 2019 prohibiting the disposal of landfill leachate in the 20
Lake Memphremagog watershed, 15,000 gallons per day of toxic landfill 21

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VT LEG #385582 v.1
leachate were disposed of, untreated for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl 1
substances (PFAS), in Newport’s wastewater treatment facility. 2
(4) Current leachate treatment systems are incapable of removing all 3
hazardous PFAS from leachate. Therefore, Lake Memphremagog must be 4
protected from chemically contaminated discharges into the lake and 5
watershed that are proven to be harmful to human and environmental health. 6
(5) PFAS contamination of Lake Memphremagog’s waters has been 7
identified in numerous reports by the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), the 8
Department of Fish and Wildlife, and others; for example, in an ANR study 9
entitled 2021 Vermont Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Surface 10
Water, Fish Tissue, and Wastewater Treatment Facility Effluent Monitoring 11
Report, Lake Memphremagog measured highest of all surface waters sampled 12
or analyzed for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), at 2.8 parts per trillion 13
(ppt) at mid-lake, which is 70 percent of the maximum contaminant level of 4 14
ppt for PFOS. 15
(6) In the ANR study in the Vermont Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl 16
Substances (PFAS) Surface Water, Fish Tissue, and Wastewater Treatment 17
Facility Effluent Monitoring Report: 18
(A) four species of fish in Lake Memphremagog that were sampled 19
and analyzed for hazardous PFOS measured equivalent to 1,000 ppt; and 20

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(B) the City of Newport’s wastewater treatment facility measured 1
higher for PFAS than any other Vermont wastewater treatment facility 2
sampled and analyzed in the study. 3
(7) In the 2020 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publication Malignant 4
Melanoma of Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) in Lake Memphremagog, 5
Vermont Quebec, the USGS found a prevalence of 30 percent of adult brown 6
bullhead had malignant melanoma. Cancerous brown bullheads are found in 7
no other waterbodies in Vermont. 8
(8) PFAS chemicals are proven to accumulate in the environment 9
and bioaccumulate in organisms, including in humans. 10
(9) PFAS chemicals are proven to cause harmful health effects, 11
including up to 10 types of cancers; endocrine disruption leading to problems 12
with reproduction, development, and metabolism; hypertension; and numerous 13
other serious health impairments. 14
(10) As more