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Public Invited to Participate in Otter Creek Tactical Basin Plan Informational Meetings

 

October 8, 2019

MONTPELIER – The 2019 Draft Otter Creek Tactical Basin Plan is now available for public comment through November 8, 2019. The plan covers portions of Bennington, Rutland, and Addison counties and all lakes, rivers, and wetlands within the Otter Creek, Little Otter Creek, and Lewis Creek watersheds. The plan provides an assessment of the health of the basin and identifies 55 water quality strategies across the following sectors: agriculture, developed lands—stormwater and roads, wastewater treatment facilities, and restoration of forest lands, lakes, rivers, and wetlands. The plan also includes information about how landowners, watershed organizations, and communities can access funding and technical assistance to help protect and restore water resources.

Three public comment meetings will be held in October to gather feedback on the plan presented by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation in partnership with the Addison County Regional Planning Commission (RPC), the Rutland RPC, the Otter Creek Natural Resource Conservation District (NRCD), and the Rutland NRCD.

“The clean-up of Lake Champlain has given added importance to tactical basin plans,” said Barbara Noyes-Pulling, Senior Planner at Rutland RPC. “Rising to the challenge, the Department of Environmental Conservation made sure this plan not only includes the best available data, but that it also gives Otter Creek municipalities specific actions that they can take to reduce pollutants going into the lake. This new plan also is a colorful and graphic-filled document to help all of us better understand the problems and solutions. There are no easy fixes, but this is a great roadmap for the next five years.”

The public is encouraged to attend the meetings, hear a presentation, and offer comments and suggestions. Meetings will take place in the evening in the following locations:

  • October 9th -- Addison County Regional Planning Commission, 14 Seminary St, Middlebury, VT, 05753, 7-8pm;
  • October 15th -- Rutland Regional Planning Commission, The Opera House, 67 Merchants Row, Rutland, VT, 05702, 7-8pm;
  • October 22nd -- Brandon Town Hall, 1 Conant Square, Brandon, VT, 05733, 5:30-7pm.

If you are unable to attend a meeting, copies of the draft plan and an interactive Story Map will be available online at the Basin 3 tactical basin planning website. To request a copy of the plan, please email Angie Allen Angie.Allen@vermont.gov or phone (802) 490-9081.

Comments should be directed by email: ANR.Basin3Comments@vermont.gov or by mail to Angie Allen, Basin 3 Comments, 430 Asa Bloomer State Office Bldg., 88 Merchants Row, Rutland, VT, 05701-5903. Comments should be postmarked or submitted via email by 4:30pm on November 8, 2019. Comments received by this date will be addressed in a responsiveness summary.