Following on a 2008 lawsuit from the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed to rewrite the Lake Champlain phosphorus budget known as a TMDL. The TMDL established an amount of phosphorus that can be absorbed by the lake and then allocates allowable discharges between point sources like wastewater treatment facilities and non-point sources such as agricultural and developed land run off. About 5% of phosphorus loading to Lake Champlain comes from wastewater treatment facilities.

EPA determined that the existing TMDL did not include an adequate margin of safety and did not provide reasonable assurance that sufficient reductions in non-point source discharges could be achieved to allow more discharge from wastewater treatment facilities. Read...

The Vermont legislature is considering bills (H. 26 and S. 35) that would limit the amount of lawn fertilizers used in the state. Frequently, homeowners apply fertilizer in excess of what is needed by lawns. Excess fertilizer has detrimental affects on water quality. Phosphorus from fertilizer can reach water when some of it is spilled on sidewalks and driveways or when fertilize soil erodes. Once in the water it promotes algae blooms. Read...

The Lake Champlain Committee and environmental consulting firm Arrowwood Environmental have won a competitive grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to conduct an invasive species survey of Missisquoi Bay. In recent years, Missisquoi Bay has been the site of a number of new invasions. In 2005 water chestnut (Trapa natans) was found in the Misssisquoi National Wildlife Refuge. In 2009 variable- leaved water milfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum) was discovered. Variable-leaved water milfoil has not been seen in the Quebec portion of Missisquoi Bay, but surveys in 2010 left some ambiguity regarding the magnitude of the infestation in the United States portion... Read...

A new version of Opportunities for Action has been released. Opportunities for Action is the management plan that guides how federal and state resources are spent to protect and restore Lake Champlain. Regular revisions to Opportunities for Action are required under the Lake Champlain Special Designation Act that provides much of the funding for work on the lake. The newest version, released in December 2010, represents the third edition of the plan... Read...

LCC has been awarded a pollution prevention grant in the most recent round of competitive funding from the Lake Champlain Basin Program. LCC will conduct a water conservation education and outreach program working with multiple partners and in multiple venues to improve water quality in Lake Champlain. Preventing excess water use reduces treatment costs at waste water treatment facilities, increases treatment efficiency, and saves energy... Read...

Throughout the country municipalities and states have struggled over what to do with old or unneeded pharmaceuticals. Too often, they are simply flushed down the toilet, but sewage treatment plants aren’t necessarily equipped to remove them. As a result, the drugs end up in the water where they are still active. Additionally, unused medications often end up on the street, being sold illicitly... Read...

If you’re a skilled carpenter with time on your hands we could use your help! LCC is looking for several volunteers to tackle an interior job building walls and work counters for our office space. The project work will likely take place late winter through early spring. Interested individuals should contact LCC Executive Director Lori Fisher at lorif@ lakechamplaincommittee.org or 802 658-1414. Read...

Winter often offers a frozen lake for skating, fishing, and myriad other activities. Throughout the winter you can watch for changes in the ice as it continues to grow, shrink, and move. Three phenomena that demonstrate the dynamic nature of ice are tension cracks, pressure ridges, and ice ramparts... Read...

Take a deep breath. In. Your lungs fill with cool, oxygen rich air. Out. The exhaled air has less oxygen, more carbon dioxide. The average adult at rest breathes twelve times per minute, all for the purpose of exchanging gases in the lungs, to bring oxygen to our blood cells. Fish need the same oxygen, but it is much more difficult to get from water. Respiration is the process by which gases are exchanged between the body and the outside environment. Respiration has two principal components: breathing or ventilation – the movement of an external medium (air or water), and gas exchange – the trade of oxygen and carbon dioxide between blood and that medium. Both ventilation and gas exchange are more difficult in water than in air... Read...

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If you’ve had an address change recently, please send us an email so we can update your files and ensure you receive news on lake issues and LCC’s work. Our primary form of communication with members is through email. By mailing electronically we save time and resources and reinforce the stewardship ethic of our mission. We don’t give away or sell email addresses. To ensure that our email messages get through to your inbox, please add lcc@ lakechamplaincommittee.org and the domain enews.lakechamplaincommittee.org to your safe/allowed list and address book. Thanks! Read...