Vermont § 1264d - Ecosystem Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Special Fund

§ 1264d. Ecosystem Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Special Fund

• (a) Purpose. The federal and State requirements for the permitting of Municipal Separate Storm
  Sewer Systems (MS4) require certain communities to collect water flow and precipitation
  data at monitoring stations on stormwater-impaired waters in order to demonstrate
  compliance with stormwater Total Maximum Daily Load allocations. The costs, equipment,
  and expertise to conduct monitoring can be prohibitive to individual communities.
  The establishment of the Ecosystem Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Special
  Fund is intended to ensure municipal compliance with the monitoring requirements for
  MS4 communities while reducing the fiscal and other pressures on these communities. (b) Creation of Fund; purpose. There is created an Ecosystem Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Special Fund,
  to be managed in accordance with the requirements of 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5, and to be administered by the Secretary of Natural Resources. The
  Ecosystem Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Special Fund shall be used to
  provide assistance to municipalities in fulfilling the monitoring, education, and
  other requirements of the MS4 permitting program. The Secretary is authorized to collect
  monies for the Fund and to make disbursements from the Fund directly related to the
  Secretary’s oversight of monitoring required under the MS4 program. (c) Participation by municipalities. (1) A municipality may through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Secretary
  of Natural Resources agree to contribute to the Ecosystem Restoration and Water Quality
  Improvement Special Fund to perform the monitoring and other data collection that
  a municipality is required to conduct under the MS4 permitting program. Under the
  MOU, a municipality shall commit to contribute to the Fund the municipality’s share
  of funding required by the Agency of Natural Resources to perform MS4 monitoring and
  provide oversight and administration. Memoranda of understanding shall serve to coordinate
  funding and work among municipalities, the State, and any entity contracted with or
  by a municipality or the State for the purposes of improving water quality. (2) At a minimum, each memorandum of understanding developed under this section shall
  contain the following: (A) the purpose of the memorandum of understanding; (B) a description of the work to be performed under the memorandum of understanding; (C) a description of how the coordinated work proposed under the memorandum of understanding
  will improve water quality; (D) the entities eligible to participate under the memorandum of understanding; and (E) the amount of required contribution by the entity, based on a funding formula developed
  in consultation with entities eligible to participate in the program. (3) A memorandum of understanding developed under this section shall be posted on the
  Agency website and subject to a comment period of not less than 30 days. (4) All participating entities, and the Agency, shall sign any final memoranda of understanding. (d) Fund proceeds. (1) The Ecosystem Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Special Fund deposits shall
  consist of: (A) payment of costs by participating MS4 communities; (B) monies appropriated by the General Assembly; and (C) any other source, public or private. (2) Unexpended balances and interest earned on the Fund shall be retained in the Fund
  for use in accordance with the purposes of the Fund. (e) Fund accounts; expenditures. (1) The Secretary shall maintain separate accounts within the Ecosystem Restoration and
  Water Quality Improvement Special Fund for each memorandum of understanding. The Secretary
  may establish within the Fund an account for the purpose of conducting education and
  outreach related to improvements to water quality. (2) Expenditures from an account shall be limited to the purposes established by the memorandum
  of understanding associated with that account. The Secretary is prohibited from disbursing
  funds on behalf of an entity that failed to contribute its assigned allocation pursuant
  to the funding formula established by the Secretary or for any purpose not associated
  with that account. (Added 2013, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)