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Vermont Was Supposed to Get an Audit of Its Lake Champlain Cleanup. It Never Happened.
Vermont spent $928 million on water quality projects and programmes from 2016, most of it aimed at Lake Champlain, but an independent audit required by law was never completed. The missed review matters because lawmakers and residents lack an outside assessment of whether the spending is improving water quality cost-effectively and whether farm pollution rules are adequately enforced.
The audit was meant to assess cleanup projects and enforcement by state agencies, with a deadline first set for 2021 and later extended to 2023. The board received no bids after requests for proposals in 2020 and 2023; its chair said firms found the proposed scope too broad, but the board did not issue a revised request and the legislature did not narrow the task. Lake Champlain has long been polluted by phosphorus runoff, which contributes to potentially toxic algae blooms and harms public health and tourism.
In short
- Vermont’s required independent water-cleanup audit never took place.
- The state has spent $928 million on water quality since 2016.
- The missed review leaves questions about results and enforcement.
Explained simply
Lake Champlain, which borders Vermont, has long faced pollution from phosphorus washing off land into the water. The nutrient can fuel algae blooms that may be harmful to people and can affect tourism and other uses of the lake.
Since 2016, Vermont has spent $928 million on water-quality work, much of it focused on the lake. State agencies oversee cleanup projects and rules intended to limit pollution from farms, while the legislature sets requirements and funding.
A law called for an independent review of the spending and enforcement, first by 2021 and later by 2023. The review was intended to help lawmakers and residents judge whether the work was improving water quality and using public money effectively.