Groundwater Protection (Vermont Statutes: Title 10 Conservation and Development; Chapter 48) Country/Territory United States of America Territorial subdivision Vermont Document type Legislation Date 2018 Source FAO, FAOLEX Subject Water Keyword Groundwater Freshwater resources management Industrial water use Water abstraction Water supply Public health Policy/planning Potable water Pollution control Water quality standards Freshwater pollution Water rights Geographical area Americas, Arctic, East Pacific, North America, North Atlantic Abstract This chapter of the Vermont Statutes concerns groundwater protection. It provides that, in recognition that the groundwater of Vermont is a precious, finite, and invaluable resource upon which there is an ever-increasing demand for present, new, and competing uses; and in further recognition that an adequate supply of groundwater for domestic, farming, dairy processing, and industrial uses is essential to the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Vermont, the withdrawal of groundwater of the State should be regulated in a manner that benefits the people of the State; is compatible with long-range water resource planning, proper management, and use of the water resources of Vermont; and is consistent with Vermont's policy of managing groundwater as a public resource for the benefit of all Vermonters; it is the policy of the State that the State shall protect its groundwater resources to maintain high-quality drinking water; it is the policy of the State that the groundwater resources of the State shall be managed to minimize the risks of groundwater quality deterioration by regulating human activities that present risks to the use of groundwater in the vicinities of such activities while balancing the State's groundwater policy with the need to maintain and promote a healthy and prosperous agricultural community; and it is the policy of the State that the groundwater resources of the State are held in trust for the public. The State shall manage its groundwater resources in accordance with the policy of this section, the requirements of subchapter 6 of this chapter, and section 1392 of this title for the benefit of citizens who hold and share rights in such waters. The designation of the groundwater resources of the State as a public trust resource shall not be construed to allow a new right of legal action by an individual other than the State of Vermont, except to remedy injury to a particularized interest related to water quantity protected under this subchapter. Full text English Website legislature.vermont.gov