Even though a legislative study committee has recommended against it, a bill that would declare Vermont’s groundwater a public trust owned by everyone in the state is going before the legislature.
Enough committee members wanted a further look at the issue, including Senator Ginny Lyons, Chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
The issue in microcosm is also making headlines in East Montpelier, where voters on Town Meeting Day will be asked whether to put a moratorium on extracting large amounts of groundwater, a vote that could spell trouble for a local water bottling plant.
Senator Lyons says the study into making groundwater a public resource has been in the works for some time:
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