§ 1389a. Clean Water Investment Report
(a) Beginning on January 15, 2017, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Administration shall publish the Clean Water Investment Report. The Report shall summarize all investments, including their cost-effectiveness, made by the Clean Water Board and other State agencies for clean water restoration over the prior fiscal year. The Report shall include expenditures from the Clean Water Fund, the General Fund, the Transportation Fund, and any other State expenditures for clean water restoration, regardless of funding source.
(b) The Report shall include:
(1) Documentation of progress or shortcomings in meeting established indicators for clean water restoration.
(2) A summary of additional funding sources pursued by the Board, including whether those funding sources were attained; if it was not attained, why it was not attained; and where the money was allocated from the Fund.
(3) A summary of water quality problems or concerns in each watershed basin of the State, a list of water quality projects identified as necessary in each basin of the State, and how identified projects have been prioritized for implementation. The water quality problems and projects identified under this subdivision shall include programs or projects identified across State government and shall not be limited to projects listed by the Agency of Natural Resources in its watershed projects database.
(4) A summary of any changes to applicable federal law or policy related to the State's water quality improvement efforts, including any changes to requirements to implement total maximum daily load plans in the State.
(5) A summary of available federal funding related to or for water quality improvement efforts in the State.
(6) Beginning January 2023, a summary of the administration of the grant programs established under sections 925-928 of this title, including whether these grant programs are adequately funding implementation of the Clean Water Initiative and whether the funding limits for the Water Quality Enhancement Grants under subdivision 1389(e)(1)(D) of this title should be amended to improve State implementation of the Clean Water Initiative.
(c) The Report may also provide an overview of additional funding necessary to meet objectives established for clean water restoration and recommendations for additional revenue to meet those restoration objectives. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d)(expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report required by this section.
(d)(1) The Secretary of Administration shall develop and use a results-based accountability process in publishing the annual report required by subsection (a) of this section.
(2) The Secretary of Administration shall develop user-friendly issue briefs, tables, or executive summaries that make the information required under subdivision (b)(3) available to the public separately from the report required by this section.
(3) On or before September 1 of each year, the Secretary of Administration shall submit to the Joint Fiscal Committee an interim report regarding the information required under subdivision (b)(5) of this section relating to available federal funding. (Added 2015, No. 64, § 37, eff. June 16, 2015; amended 2017, No. 85, § E.700.1; 2017, No. 168 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 22, 2018; 2019, No. 76, § 10.)