Rutland County
posted
Oct 25, 2012
Rutland Natural Resources Conservation District (RNRCD) has been
awarded a Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC)
$63,980 Ecosystem Restoration Grant to implement an illicit
discharge and detection elimination project in seven Rutland County
towns: Proctor, Wallingford, Benson, Castleton, Fair Haven,
Poultney and West Rutland.
The project will locate and characterize non-stormwater
contaminant sources in each town's municipal separate stormwater
system and initiate correction of bacterial, nutrient, and
hazardous material discharges to surface waters in these towns.
The project will serve the dual purpose of protecting the
State's water quality and supporting the RNRCD's goal to improve
the quality of stormwater runoff discharging from the
municipality.
This project will improve water quality by identifying and
eliminating contaminated, non-stormwater discharges entering
stormwater drainage systems that discharge to the upper Otter Creek
and Poultney River Basins in Rutland County and ultimately to Lake
Champlain.
Ecosystem Restoration Grants are made available to Vermont
municipalities, local or regional governmental agencies, non-profit
organizations, and citizens groups as part of the Ecosystem
Restoration Program's on-going efforts to reduce surface water
pollution from phosphorus and sediment in Vermont. Funded projects
typically involve efforts to improve stream stability, protect
against flood hazards, improve in-stream and riparian habitat,
lessen the effects of stormwater runoff, protect and restore
riparian wetlands, re-establish lake shoreline native vegetation,
and enhance the environmental and economic sustainability of
agricultural lands.
