The state of Vermont’s plans to clean up more than a dozen streams fouled by stormwater runoff are taking longer than some expected, and critics warn that costs will rise the longer it takes to address them.
The price tag for cleaning up four of them – in Chittenden County alone – is estimated at $42 million.
The streams are mostly small and run through areas that have paved roads, parking lots, driveways and roofs. When rain falls in those areas, it runs off pavement and picks up pollutants before eroding stream banks, clogging them with sediment and nutrients such as phosphorus.
Critics say the state hasn’t adopted a detailed cleanup plan for the streams including making decisions on the scope of the work, a timetable, or which private property owners must limit runoff from their land.