(Much thanks to Michelle Monroe, staff writer at the St. Albans Messenger newspaper, for sharing this story with us about a very important hearing taking place here in St. Albans on July 18. We. Will. Be there. Will you?) Pivotal Ag. hearing set Missisquoi Bay farmers’ practices in crosshairs By MICHELLE MONROE Messenger Staff Writer ST. ALBANS — Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross has scheduled a public hearing here in July on a petition demanding that certain farmers within the Missisquoi Bay watershed adopt best management practices. An environmental watchdog group, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), last month relied on a little known provision in state statutes to demand that Ross require farmers with fields identified as critical sources of phosphorous and sediment adopt field practices that will reduce the pollution coming from their land. The hearing has been scheduled for Friday, July 18, from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the Bliss Room of the St. Albans Historical Museum. Statute requires Ross to issue a timely, fact-based decision following the hearing. Under law, Ross was required to hold a public hearing on the matter within 60 days of receiving the petition and issue a timely written decision supported by findings of fact. He also will have to determine whether there is sufficient funding for the implementation of best management practices. If not, then the state may have to come up with funding to support their implementation. A 2011 study by Stone Environmental used extensive data on topography, soils and land use to identify those areas in the Missisquoi Bay watershed where phosphorous and sediment runoff is more likely to occur. Researchers found that three quarters of the sediment and phosphorous entering the bay was coming from just 20 percent of the land, much of it agricultural. Since then, numerous efforts have been made to entice the owners of those fields to adopt best management practices that would minimize the pollution coming off of their land with mixed results. CLF attorney Anthony Iarrapino has argued that voluntary measures are insufficient and all landowners with critical source areas need to be held to the same standards. In making the announcement of the petition, Iarrapino, told the Messenger on May 22, Right now the bay is facing a crisis and we cant afford to rely solely on voluntary changes any more. Unless we have every producer being held to the same standard we are not going to make progress in Missisquoi Bay. As part of the critical source area study, Stone Environmental used its model to examine the impact of best management practices on a typical farm in the watershed, one that had a mix of crops, 100 to 200 animals and a history of using conservation practices. When information on the farms use of buffers, a grassed waterway and animal exclusion fencing was incorporated into the model, the results showed that each of those methods reduced phosphorous runoff from the affected areas by 30 to 60 percent. Any decision made by Ross will be appealable to the Vermont Environmental Court by either CLF, farmers impacted by Rosss decision, or another party. Ross will also have to determine whether there is sufficient funding for the implementation of best management practices. If not, then the state may have to come up with funding to support their implementation. Currently, most of the funding for best management practices comes from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other federal agencies. Requirements for federal programs can be rigid, and Iarrapino said in May that CLF has heard from farmers who would prefer to work with the state. But the state has far fewer resources available. The petition is a way of potentially increasing state involvement. --- --- --- ---
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:52:00 +0000
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