Pursuant to 10 V.S.A. §1424, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation received a petition to adopt a Use of Public Waters Rule regarding the management of wake boats and their activities on Vermont lakes and ponds.
The Use of Public Waters Rules (Rules) govern the aquatic resources management of the public waters of Vermont. The Rules establish a number of general management rules to protect normal uses on all lakes, ponds and reservoirs. If an entity proposes to adopt a Use of Public Waters rule for a public waterbody, they may petition the State to create a recreation-related rule to address a specific recreation-related conflict. The Rules attempt to avoid, where possible, and resolve, when necessary, conflicts in the use of public waters in a comprehensive and integrated manner so that the various uses may be enjoyed in a reasonable manner, considering the best interests of both current and future generations of the citizens of the state and insuring that natural resource values of the public waters are fully protected.
The petition and supporting documents is posted online: https://dec.vermont.gov/watershed/lakes-ponds/rulemaking
A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 29, 2022, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Any person can submit oral or written statements and data concerning the petition. The meeting facilitator may fix reasonable limits on the time allowed for oral statements. The meeting will be held at the Richmond Free Library, at 201 Bridge Street, Richmond, VT and online via Microsoft Teams. To join the meeting remotely, click “Join Microsoft Teams Meeting” at the scheduled time or call 802-828-7667 and enter the Conference ID number: 646 403 677#. Note: the call-in option provides audio only.
A second public meeting on this petition in another region of the State will be scheduled for: TBD
The following guidelines will help facilitate participation in the meeting:
- If you would like to comment during the meeting, please send an email to Laura Dlugolecki or call 802-490-6133 by 4:00 pm on Tuesday June 28, 2022. A list of names will be created chronologically from the time the request was received. There will also be a sign-up sheet at the meeting, or you can indicate you’d like to comment in the Microsoft Teams chat box after joining.
- If you are joining the meeting via Microsoft Teams, you will be “in the lobby” until a meeting facilitator admits you into the meeting. You will be muted once you are admitted.
- Please remain muted unless instructed otherwise. Unmuting yourself may negatively impact the audio for all meeting participants.
- When a meeting facilitator indicates it is your turn to ask a question or state your comment, unmute yourself by clicking the microphone symbol or press *6 if you called in to the meeting.
If you would like to submit a comment after the meeting has ended, comments will be accepted via email to Laura Dlugolecki (please use "Use of Public Waters Public Comment" in the subject line) or mail to the following address by 4:00 pm on Friday July 29, 2022:
Attn: Laura Dlugolecki
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
Watershed Management Division
1 National Life Drive, Davis 3
Montpelier, VT 05620-3522