The Environmental Protection Agency has made a worrying discovery about a program in Vermont that is failing to protect water quality in the state.

What's happening?

A September letter from the EPA to the secretary of the Vermont Natural Resources Agency indicates that the state is failing to comply with the Clean Water Act and allowing pollution from farms, particularly phosphorus runoff, to discharge into Lake Champlain and other waterways, according to the Associated Press.

The Natural Resources Agency and Agriculture Food and Markets Agency both oversee agricultural water pollution in the state, but the split in responsibilities "is interfering with the regulation of Vermont's CAFOs and preventing Vermont from adequately addressing agricultural water quality," wrote David Cash, EPA administrator for Region 1 in Boston.

Despite programs already in place, it appears bureaucracy is impacting the effective enforcement of the rules, dating back over 15 years, per Cash's letter to the state.

"EPA has closely observed program operations in Vermont for well over a decade and despite having had ample time and opportunity to cure longstanding program deficiencies, many of which were outlined in the 2008 withdrawal petition, ANR has failed to do so," Cash wrote.

Why is phosphorus runoff important?

Excess phosphorus runoff from farms, roads, and other sources has fueled toxic algae blooms in Lake Champlain, per the EPA. Toxic algae blooms "can kill fish, mammals and birds, and...

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