Environment Committee

The House Committee on Environment considers matters related to conservation and development; climate change mitigation; land resources, air, water, fish, and wildlife; solid waste management; and other similar policies.

Climate Resiliency

The Environment Committee is working to ensure effective progress is being made on landmark climate legislation passed over the past few years, including Act 59, the Community Resiliency and Biodiversity Protection Act, which requires we permanently conserve 30% of Vermont by 2030 and 50% by 2050 to preserve biodiversity and facilitate the ability of species to shift their ranges and adapt to the changing climate. We are also examining best practices in river corridor restoration practices, including enabling beavers to naturally provide critical flood resiliency services for landscapes and communities. 

Clean Water Regulations

The Environment Committee has been taking testimony on our state’s ongoing investments and regulatory actions to reduce phosphorus pollution entering Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog, as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The committee is working to address concerns that the 3-acre stormwater rule implemented to address phosphorus reductions from impervious surfaces is overly burdensome in some circumstances. The committee also is examining to possibility of relocating Vermont’s agricultural water quality regulatory program from our Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to the Agency of Natural Resources.

Protecting Vermonters From Perfluoroalkyl And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) 

The Environment Committee is working on H.238 (An act relating to the phaseout of consumer products containing added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) to continue to remove PFAS chemicals from consumer products and our environment. PFAS have notoriously come to be known as “forever chemicals” because of of their persistence in the environment. There are thousands of these chemicals and they have become commonly used for a range of purposes and products. PFAS have clear human health impacts, including cancer, reduced fertility, developmental effects in children, and endocrine and immune system disruption. The committee hopes to build on the work of Act 131, passed in 2024, which banned PFAS compounds in a variety of consumer products. H.238 would add to the list of banned products, encourage industries to continue to remove PFAS from their products as well as their manufacturing processes, and continue to move Vermont forward in addressing these forever chemicals.