I’ve often found myself in the position of being one of the Agency of Natural Resources’ harshest critics.  

Under the Douglas administration, the ANR’s team in the trenches seemed to always be hamstrung by the agenda at the top.  “Business friendly”  was a euphemism for regulation-light.

Now it’s time to give Deb Markowitz and the new, improved ANR their due.  The weekend papers carry an editorial by Sec. Markowitz that delivers some relief for the anguished concerns of environmentalists all over the state.

Irene did plenty of damage to the infrastructure of the state; but temporarily abandoning prudent regulatory practices in order to get the state up and running again came with it’s own set of damaging issues.  Some may have viewed the temporary lapse as an opportunity to be exploited rather than a trust to be honored.

In a year of  state fiscal restraints and federal obstructions, the Agency faced a dilemma:

Getting this balance right – with 2,000 locations with flooding impacted rivers and streams – is challenging, and responding to this statewide emergency clearly has strained the finite resources of the Agency of Natural Resources Rivers Program.

Now, the ANR has essentially changed the flashing yellow light to red, and reconstruction “traffic” will henceforth have to obey some rules.

Starting last week, staff began the shift from an exclusive focus on emergency response to working with communities, businesses and homeowners to maximize the long-term effectiveness of our state’s flood recovery work. We will be moving from oral authorizations to written documentation to ensure that work is done in conformity with the rules.

For those unwilling to accept the decision on a purely environmental basis, Sec. Markowitz offers this more pragmatic perspective:

Work in Vermont’s streams and rivers must be done with the knowledge that doing the work incorrectly is just money down the hole.

The Agency says it is looking forward  to

engaging Vermonters in a conversation about how we can rebuild Vermont to be stronger and more resilient to the next round of flooding.

Which brings me to the ongoing ANR Public Forums  addressing Act 250 permitting.

I approached the one last Thursday night in St. Albans with a degree of cynicism.  Notice of the forum in Franklin County had not been widely circulated, and I only learned of it the night before.

Honed by years of unsatisfactory interaction with the Agency during the Douglas years, I expected the forum to be dominated by the concerns of developers and contract engineers.

I was wrong.  

When I arrived, five minutes before the forum was scheduled to take place, I was surprised to enter a room that was completely empty except for two lawyers from the ANR seated at the front and looking anxiously for ANYONE to show up!

I quickly learned that coping with the aftermath of Irene has left the ANR severely strapped and without the necessary personnel to make more of a deal of the Act 250 Forums.  

The attorneys present, Donald Einhorn, and Ron Shems (Chair of the Natural Resources Board) were extremely welcoming and engaged.  I took advantage of my solo time with them to get right to the point about the Northwest Citizens’  particular experiences with the Act 250 process concerning Walmart.

After about ten more minutes, other people began to arrive.  Rep. Lynn Dickinson, developer Sam Smith, City Planning Commission member Ryan Doyle, and Michelle Monroe of the Messenger (who wrote an excellent account of the forum.)

That was it…just five souls representing the entire county!

But, as Mr. Shems observed at the end, the size of the group meant a more meaningful and fluid conversation was possible; and the diversity of viewpoints couldn’t have been better.  Everyone was respectful of one another despite our differences and we didn’t waste any time arguing.

The team from ANR took copious notes and did not hurry away at the end, lingering instead to compliment all of us on our knowledge of the Act 250 process and our civility.  Likewise, I think we all had nothing but praise for the encounter.

This truly felt like government as we expect it to behave in response to its citizen-employers.  

Well done, Sec. Markowitz!