Community FAQ

  1. Question: Why was BF/OCV chosen as a focus for the UVM/RAN project?

    There are two reasons. First, the BF/OCV neighborhood is representative of the type of neighborhoods that have been a part of the rapid expansion of suburban development in Vermont, and elsewhere in the U.S. It was developed using engineering standards and approaches that date back to the 1950?s, when environmental concerns were secondary and our understanding of how to deal with groundwater, stormwater, and streams was less advanced. Consequently, upgrading stormwater management systems is more challenging in this neighborhood design setting than it is in more recently designed and engineered communities. Second, the physical layout of BF/OCV on either side of Tributary 7 of Potash Brook makes it an ideal neighborhood for monitoring and evaluating water quality and quantity impacts of stormwater runoff, making it much easier to evaluate the effects of the development and of actions to manage stormwater runoff than would be the case in most other places.

  2. Concern: Is it true that BF/OCV residents will be held to a higher standard because of the involvement of the UVM/RAN research team?

    No. Every property in a Vermont watershed that the State has designated as ?stormwater-impaired? is subject to the same set of stormwater permitting and treatment standards. BF/OCV is in Potash Brook watershed, which is a ?stormwater-impaired? watershed. Nearly all of South Burlington?s residential neighborhoods are located in stormwater-impaired watersheds, and thus are subject to the exact same standards and procedures as will apply to BF/OCV. The assistance being offered by the UVM/RAN team will help the BF/OCV neighborhood evaluate a wide range of stormwater treatment options that can meet the State standards. This is a significant benefit that no other neighborhood in Vermont has been offered.

  3. Concern: Will it cost each property owner $5,000 or more to fix the stormwater problems in the BF/OCV neighborhoods?

    The fact is that nobody knows how much it will cost until an Engineering Feasibility Analysis is done. The City and UVM/RAN are offering to facilitate this work. As with any important decision there are likely to more expensive and less expensive options. The UVM/RAN team is trying to identify options that are both inexpensive and effective.

  4. Question: Has the amount of pollution generated from BF/OCV been measured and is it a large portion of the pollution entering Lake Champlain?

    One of the important objectives of the UVM/RAN project is to quantify the level of pollutants generated from these neighborhoods. Our data so far indicate that substantial amounts of some pollutants are generated. The amounts generated are similar to other developed areas in Vermont and across the nation. Individually, the BF/OCV neighborhoods contribute only a small fraction of the total pollutant load to Lake Champlain. However, collectively, neighborhoods like BF/OCV contribute a substantial fraction of the total pollutants entering Lake Champlain. The purpose of the UVM/RAN project is to demonstrate that if all Champlain Basin neighborhoods employed measures such as those we identify together for BF/OCV, we can ensure that Lake Champlain and its tributaries will remain in good condition.

  5. Question: If suggested stormwater controls are implemented, will the resulting reduction in pollution of Lake Champlain be measurable and attributable to the neighborhood?

    This is, in fact, the reason for the UVM/RAN monitoring program. We want to know the answer to this question as well. Currently no other neighborhood in Vermont has such a monitoring program in place. One thing we already know for sure is that there will be no improvement in lake water quality if we do nothing.

  6. Question: What is being done to reduce pollutant loads from other sources?

    Considerable efforts are being mounted to control pollutant loads from many different sources, including commercial facilities, municipal public works operations, industries, roadway maintenance, sewage treatment plants, farms, forestry, and recreational uses. The BF/OCV initiative is only one of several aspects of the UVM/RAN project. And the UVM/RAN project is only one of several Federal, State, City and non-profit initiatives focused on good stewardship of the lake. Those who would like to learn more about what is being done to address environmental issues related to Lake Champlain can find more information on this website (see the RESEARCHERS portal) as well as web sites for the Lake Champlain Basin Program, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, the Lake Champlain Committee ,and other organizations and agencies.

  7. Question: Do the BF/OCV neighborhoods really pollute the lake more than other sources; e.g., motor craft on the lake, development along Shelburne Road, or development on the lake shore itself?

    All developed land areas, and some recreation activities, contribute different pollutants to the Lake. Collectively, runoff from developed land ? including BF/OCV ? is a major and growing source of stormwater pollutants of concern in Lake Champlain. The BF/OCV development is not an unusual source of pollutants. Rather, it is a very typical source of pollutants. An important objective of the UVM/RAN project is to identify simple and inexpensive means to lower the pollutant loads generated from BF/OCV so that these measures can be applied in other neighborhoods in Vermont. Our hope is that in doing so, we can collectively protect the environmental resources we all value.

  8. Question: What controls are in place on the New York side of the lake?

    NY state has its own set of environmental regulations that are designed to meet national standards developed by the US/EPA, as required by the federal Clean Water Act ? as does Vermont. Vermont, New York and the Province of Quebec all participate actively in the Lake Champlain Basin Program to coordinate regulatory and management activities around the entire Lake Champlain Basin .

  9. Question: What about salt and snow removal as pollutants to the lake?

    Road salting is a balance between health and safety on the one hand and environmental concerns on the other. Both road salt and snow are potential sources of pollutants to streams and the lake, and stormwater dynamics strongly affect how much of these materials reach Lake Champlain. South Burlington and other Chittenden County towns are subject to new EPA requirements to reduce and carefully calibrate salt and sand applications to roads. Nationally, there are substantial efforts underway to make non-polluting alternatives to salt and sand more attractive and available to municipal and commercial users. South Burlington now requires that commercial parking lots identify a vegetated snow storage area on their site plans to reduce salty runoff. No one ? private or public ? is allowed to legally dump removed snow directly into the Lake.

  10. Question: How would further development in the vicinity of BF/OCV affect stormwater runoff?

    This is an important question that the UVM/RAN program hopes to be able to address. Through our fieldwork and data collection, we are establishing existing or ?baseline? conditions of the tributary. In the future, this information will be used to evaluate potential changes in the stream that might result from upstream development. There are a variety of sophisticated tools available to scientists and engineers that could help predict what these effects might be. If properly used, these tools are accurate and useful. However, they are usually complicated and require data that is often not readily available. The UVM/RAN team is working to develop several new tools that are less accurate, but much easier to use. We hope that these tools will help state and city regulators, local civil engineers, and the public to better understand how different development scenarios in an area might affect stormwater quantity and quality.

  11. Question: : Will there be additional controls placed on the Vermont National Country Club to control water and pollutant runoff from this development?

    The VNCC already has a number of controls in place. Whether additional controls are required by the city or state is a matter beyond the control of the UVM/RAN initiative. It should be noted that in the summer of 2004 the UVM/RAN team identified a major failure of the VNCC stormwater management facilities that was seriously impacting the BR/OCV neighborhood in the vicinity of Moss Glen Road. We alerted the City to this failure and the City responded immediately. Our understanding is that this failure has been repaired by VNCC.