Burlington Council Launches New Stormwater-Management Program

Summary

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That's because stormwater i.e., rain or snowmelt that can't penetrate into the ground because of surfaces such as roads, buildings and parking lots - can pick up nasty chemicals on its way to local watersheds. Burlington's steep hills exacerbate stormwater runoff, according to a report by the city's Department of Planning & Zoning, causing paint, oil and antifreeze to accumulate in Burlington Bay, the Winooski River, the Englesby Brook and nearby wetlands.

Ever since the ANR issued the city an EPA-approved, stormwatermanagement permit in 2003, Burlington administrators have been struggling to, as [Scott Gustin] puts it, "get our act together." In 2003, the city helped establish the Chittenden Countywide Regional Stormwater Education Program and, according to a DPW report, "informally" began enforcing state stormwater protocols on new construction projects. In 2007, city councilors included a section on erosion prevention in their rewrite of Burlington's zoning ordinance.

Kelly Devine, executive director of the Burlington Business Association, says she hopes the new program won't discourage downtown development. Also, "We need to let people know this is coming and help them understand it," she cautions. "Because if a charge shows up on people's bills and they don't know what they're paying for, you're going to get a lot of pushback from the public."

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Burlington Council Launches New Stormwater-Management Program

'This the season of giving and receiving. A few days before Thanksgiving, Queen City residents breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Burlington Electric Department announced it wouldn't seek a planned 5.9 percent rate increase in 2009. But on December 15, the B...

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