§ 1250 - State water quality policy - Vermont Statutes

§ 1250. State water quality policy

It is the policy of the state of Vermont to:

(1) protect and enhance the quality, character and usefulness of its surface waters and to assure the public health;

(2) maintain the purity of drinking water;

(3) control the discharge of wastes to the waters of the state, prevent degradation of high quality waters and prevent, abate or control all activities harmful to water quality;

(4) assure the maintenance of water quality necessary to sustain existing aquatic communities;

(5) provide clear, consistent and enforceable standards for the permitting and management of discharges;

(6) protect from risk and preserve in their natural state certain high quality waters, including fragile high-altitude waters, and the ecosystems they sustain;

(7) manage the waters of the state to promote a healthy and prosperous agricultural community, to increase the opportunities for use of the state's forest, park and recreational facilities, and to allow beneficial and environmentally sound development.

It is further the policy of the state to seek over the long term to upgrade the quality of waters and to reduce existing risks to water quality. (Added 1985, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 17, 1986.)