MONTPELIER — With the spring construction season ahead, the Department of Environmental Conservation is reminding Vermonters about additional requirements to help protect the state’s waterways.
“We understand that managing construction sites to protect water quality is a year-round challenge,” said DEC Commissioner John Beling in a statement. “Using measures that reduce erosion and keep soil on construction sites helps us protect Vermont’s waterways and their many benefits.”
Construction activities require a construction stormwater permit under the state's general permit when total land disturbance is:
• equal to or greater than 1 acre;
• or less than 1 acre, but is part of a larger common plan of development, if the larger development will ultimately result in the disturbance of 1 or more acres.
Permittees must have an erosion prevention and sediment control plan. From marking construction limits to installing stone check dams, measures in the plan must follow state standards and specifications.
“Permittees help us not only reduce erosion but also cut costs to maintain infrastructure such as road ditches and storm sewers,” said Beling. “Our department offers resources to help Vermonters understand the full suite of measures, follow the permit requirements, and protect our remarkable surface waters from streams and rivers to ponds, lakes and wetlands.”
Learn more by viewing the permit application instructions or the Low Risk Site Handbook. The DEC Stormwater Management Program oversees regulations and offers technical assistance for stormwater management.