Commissioner's
Office News & DEC Staff Highlights
March, 2013: The Final 2013-2015
Performance Partnership Agreement between EPA Region 1 and
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation has been signed by EPA and
DEC.
November, 2012 - Draft Performance Partnership Agreement: The Department will be accepting comments on the Draft PPA 2013-15 between the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1. DEC will
be hosting an informational meeting on December 4th at the State House. The comment period starts on November 28, 2012 and ends on December 28, 2012. For more information or to submit comments please contact Jennifer Bryan at 802-477-3101 or jennifer.bryan@state.vt.us
May, 2012 - DEC’s 2012 PSRW award recipient The Vermont e-cycles Team - Karen Knaebel, Kim Lutchko, Barb Schwendtner, Cathy Stacy, Cathy Jamieson, Matt Chapman: The Vermont e-cycles Team was selected and recognized at the 2012 Vermont Public Service Recognition ceremony held on May 7, 2012.
The Team confronted a significant environmental problem and seized the initiative to successfully implement a legislatively mandated, complicated program under serious time constraints. The Team developed the program to divert electronic wastes from Vermont’s landfills and provide an environmentally sound recycling alternative. Program costs are paid by manufacturers, so the public enjoys free, convenient, collection at 90 facilities established across the state. To date, 75 manufacturers have registered, and over 3.4 million pounds of electronics have been recycled – under budget, and exceeding the mandated goal only three quarters of the way through the first year – outstanding job.
May, 2011 - VT ANR Climate change Adaptation Project: Reducing the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) into the atmosphere is the first key step to avoiding the most extreme effects of climate change. However, in light of the high GHG concentrations already present in our atsmoshpere, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (VT ANR) recognizes the pressing need to establish an effective adaptation plan to complement the state's mitigation efforts. The VT ANR is seeking technical assistance in developing a statewide adapatation Plan focusing on four natural resource based sectors: wildlife, forestry, fisheries, and water resources. The plan will include a vulnerability assessment, identification of information gaps, a climate change adaptation strategy, and a public education and engagement strategy to further the efforts of the adaptation plan. For more information, please review the VT ANR Adaptation Project 2011 RFP.
January, 2011 - David Mears Appointed DEC Commissioner: Governor
Shumlin appointed Vermont Law School professor David Mears as commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation; he will cut short a Fulbright scholarship in China to start his new position in January.
May, 2010 - Canute E. Dalmasse Award - Dolores Kuhn: Dolores has worked in the Springfield Regional Office for 24 years and is well know as one of the kindest, gentlest souls in this office. Her words of encouragement, empathy and understanding always make it easy to talk to Dolores and her quiet dedication to her work is why she is the perfect candidate to receive this award. Please click here for the complete write-up.
May, 2010 -DEC ARRA Team Recognized: The DEC ARRA Team were recognized at the annual Public Service Recognition Week event this month. There were 32 staff members from six divisions that formed the team necessary to complete the extraordinary workload created by the Federal Simulus Act - in addition to their daily work. They assured the Commissioner from day one that they would meet every deadline - and they did. As a result, Vermont has had the benefit of more than $40 million in funding to improve infrastructure, replace school buses and help clean up stormwater. In the process, we helped create or retain dozens of jobs for Vermonters. For that we are all proud of them. (Complete listing)
May 2010: The Final 2010-2012 Performance Partnership Agreement between EPA Region 1 and Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation has been signed by EPA and DEC.
October, 2009 -Draft Performance Partnership Agreement 2010 - 2012: The Department will be accepting comments on the Draft Performance Parntership Agreement between the Vermont Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1. Comments will be accepted
from October 22, 2009 through November 12, 2009. Please submit comments to PPA.Mail@state.vt.us
July, 2009 - New Commissioner Appointed: On July 16, 2009, Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Jonathan Wood named Justin Johnson as Commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation. Commissioner Johnson joined the Agency of Natural Resources in 2004 and has served twice as acting commissioner for the department. (brief bio)
February 2009 - Federal Economic Simulus Funds: The Vermont Water Supply Division and Facilities Engineering Division will hold a public hearing on Friday, March 20, 2009, 2009, 1:00 to 4:00 P.M., Summit Training Center located in the Osgood Building in the Waterbury State Office Complex. The purpose of the hearing is to discuss the Intended Use Plan (IUP)/Project Priority Lists and solicit public input regarding the administration of the federal economic stimulus funds in the Vermont Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Programs. The federal legislation is now in final form and approximately 20 million dollars in additional funding will be available to each of the respective programs. More information is available by clicking on the following links:
Public Hearing Announcement
CSG Final Analysis of ARRA
Pre-Application ARRA
Clean Water http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/fed/fed.htm
Drinking Water http://www.vermontdrinkingwater.org/grants.htm
February 2009 - Moretown Landfill Gas to Energy Plant: Over the past several months, Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL) has been constructing a landfill gas to energy (LGE) plant located at the Moretown landfill. The landfill owners, in conjunction with PPL, have been working to bring the plant on line and as of mid January of this year, the plant has been running at nearly full capacity, using the gas generated by decomposing trash to produce electricity. Prior to this year thatt gas had been burned off using two flares, one at each end of the landfill. More information.....
February 2009 - Bennington Fish Culture Station - Project Update: This project for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is in the second phase of construction to complete the water treatment facility/system.....more information.
January 2009 - Vermont Business Materials eXchange is a web-based listing service to help businesses find and get rid of used materials. This online exchange http://vbmx.net/ is funded through a grant from the Agency of Natural Resources as a service to reduce waste, reduce greenhouse gases, save energy, and conserve resources...more information.
Vermont School Carbon Challenge: The Agency of Natural Resources, The Department of Environmental Conservation and other public and private sector partners have collaborated with Carbon Challenge, Inc. to put into place a carbon reduction challenge issued to all Vermont Schools at the beginning of this school year. To learn more about the Vermont School Carbon Challenge or to discover resources for reducing your own carbon footprint, please visit the we web site at http://www.anr.state.vt.us/site/html/VSCC/index.htm
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