APPROVE H.

75 AMENDED: Government
Accountability Committee (GAC)
Issue
In our state, the residents of Census Tract No. 4056, known as the Bottoms, are experiencing a
disproportionate number of regional commercial waste processing facilities in their community. Vermont’s
environmental regulatory agency (Department of Environmental Protection) licensed these facilitates.
The state has already received and is seriously considering a proposal to expand the Westinghouse incinerator
(within the Bottoms) to burn hazardous medical wastes for the first time. The medical waste will come from all
hospitals throughout Vermont, and the permit will be for the incinerator to burn an additional 280,000 tons
per year. If allowed, this will result in the Bottoms having a total permit capacity of more than 1.6 million tons
per year.
In comparison, the state agency has only issued three permits within the larger neighboring community known
as Bountiful County. Where regional commercial waste operators (garbage disposal companies) have a total
annual permit capacity of 878,000 tons per year. The Bottoms is a small subdivision, while Bountiful County is
a larger community having 134 census tracts and 191 square miles which waste processing facilities could
utilize.

Proposal
As the previous charge of the Government Accountability Committee concerned non-profit organizations,
amended H.75 proposes a new direction for the committee. To focus on public health and environmental
outcomes of pollution generating facilities within proximity to communities, especially impoverished ones. The
Bill features a streamlined process of how members will:
1. Review, evaluate, and assess environmental hazards
2. Incorporate humanitarian aspects to decision-making processes
3. Involve community members within the committee to make informed decisions
4. Hold environmental agencies accountable
Second, H.75 includes 10 V.S.A. Ch. 151 (ACT 250 LAND USE PERMIT) which sets particular actions,
requirements, and obligations that the District Environmental Commission has to follow when looking at
applications for land use permits. The Bill provides the conditions necessary for future landowners to take
while applying for permits. The Commission is responsible for reviewing and evaluating these applications to
ensure that potential permit holders do not negatively impact communities.

Why is it important?
The Bottoms is a historically impoverished, mostly African American community, that has become a dumping a
site for Bountiful County and residents feel no necessary actions are taking place to address the issue.
Amended H.75, intends to provide a governmental connection for many communities suffering from public
health and environmental impacts caused by pollution generating facilities. Many of the Bottoms families
already encounter food insecurity, no access to emergency services, and little employment opportunities
because of their location. They have been impacted not only by pollution generating facilities but also the
inequality of having more commercial waste facilities as opposed to their predominantly White counterparts in
Bountiful County.
There is no committee overseeing the operations of the Department of Environmental Protection, its impacts
on communities, and how land usage can lead to adverse outcomes for residents. Communities should have
access to governmental entities that can understand their concerns, implement them in the decision-making
process, and address environmental impacts faced by the most vulnerable. This state Bill intends to remedy
these issues and provide a platform for community members via H.75.

For more information

Ricardo Edwards & Nicole Adelman, Vermont Oversight Committee on Committees

November 2018