Vermont Public Radio reports that a new report by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) says "the state has failed to adequately control pollution from large farms." The report notes that farms "require Clean Water Act discharge permits" and the state "has not implemented the permit program." 

The report is based on the state's records and inspections and found "that there have been significant discharges from a number of industrial-scale agriculture operations that are subject to the Clean Water Act." In addition, the report says, these discharges "haven't been addressed, even though there have been a number of inspections." Notably, "farm run off is a major cause of pollution to Lake Champlain. And the state lists 30 rivers, streams and lakes around the state that are damaged by farm pollution."

Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee disagreed with the CLF findings. He said "his agency aggressively implements the large farm regulations." He added that the Department has also, on a number of occassions, "indicated to farmers [that] by a certain date they have to meet standards, [or] be under penalty.''

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