Development, if not properly conducted, increases phosphorus runoff through increased soil erosion and increased runoff volumes, which leads to erosion downstream. Eroded soil is a source of phosphorus in runoff.

Good municipal plans, programs, and regulations are an essential tool for reducing phosphorus runoff. Measures such as vegetated riparian buffer strips, setbacks, and erosion control provisions can be implemented at the local level to ensure all projects meet minimum water quality protection standards. In addition, good water quality protection goals in town plans provide legal support for zoning regulations, as well as guide the town in non-zoning matters. Municipal programs and regulations provide an important component of phosphorus control as state regulations do not have jurisdiction over all development.

Of the 136 towns in the Lake Champlain Basin, many do not have adequate protective water quality standards in their zoning ordinances or other applicable regulations. With support from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, a Water Quality Coordinator, housed at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) Municipal Assistance Center, provides free on-site professional assistance and training for municipalities seeking to take greater steps to protect water quality. The Coordinator can assist with projects such as recommended updates to land use regulations, on-site trainings on water quality regulation, examples of model and sample regulations, stormwater compliance and other tools for water quality protection. For more information, contact Milly Archer, VLCT Water Quality Coordinator.

What is your town doing to improve water quality and reduce phosphorus loading? Measures that can be implemented at the town level to provide phosphorus control include:

1. Streambank and lakeshore setbacks and vegetated buffers. Buffer strips are essential components of water quality protection. A vegetated strip between development and water filters sediment from runoff, removes phosphorus through infiltration into the soil, and protects lakeshore or streambanks from erosion. There are no state standards for buffer strips, and building projects that fall outside of Act 250 jurisdiction might fall only under municipal jurisdiction.
2. Standards that reduce impervious areas (areas that cannot absorb runoff and thus contribute more phosphorus and increase erosion). Parking lots, roofs and roads cannot absorb rain and thus result in higher flows leaving a site and potential erosion downstream. New state stormwater regulations do not cover all potential projects.
3. Construction erosion control standards. Soil disturbed or bared during construction is ripe for erosion should it rain. While new state construction erosion control permits cover projects down to one acre in size, many smaller projects could receive review and guidance at the municipal level.
4. Standards to promote site development plans that minimize the total area disturbed and protect the natural topography and vegetation as much as possible. Uneven ground and native vegetation both aid with runoff infiltration and treatment.

There are also many non-regulatory phosphorus control options for towns, including outreach to landowners and contractors, land trusts and conservation easements, and re-planting of shorelands.