Welcome to the Northeast Kingdom!

The Northeast Kingdom is known for its pastoral landscapes, year-round fun and honest people.

 

NVDA serves the 55 municipalities in this northeastern corner of Vermont as the Regional Planning Commission. We assist with regional and municipal land use and Transportation Planning.

 

NVDA also serves the businesses in the Kingdom and encourages sustainable economic growth as the Regional Economic Development Corporation.

 

We encourage you to discover the rich traditions and natural wonders enjoyed in these three counties of Caledonia, Essex and Orleans.

 

 

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ANR Releases River Corridor Base Map

Dear Town Clerk

 

The Agency of Natural Resources has posted a Base Map of river corridors on line at tinyurl.com/floodreadyatlas. Click here to find answers to frequently asked questions.

River Corridors

What they are: A river corridor is delineated to provide for the least erosive form toward which a river will evolve during floods over time. River corridor maps guide State actions to protect, restore, and maintain naturally stable meanders and riparian areas to minimize erosion hazards. Land within and immediately abutting a river corridor may be at higher risk to fluvial erosion during floods.

What they are not: River Corridor Maps do not indicate any required action on the part of municipalities. They are developed to facilitate ANR’s responsibilities in Act 250 to protect public safety from fluvial erosion hazards and to regulate activities exempt from municipal regulation under the Flood Hazard Area and River Corridor Rules. The Legislature has directed the ANR to promote municipal river corridor protection, but towns are not required, nor does the state have the authority to require the use of these maps by local communities. Landowners are not required to get flood insurance within Mapped River Corridors.

Over time, this newly posted map will serve as a place to composite data from the hundreds of separate river corridor and fluvial erosion hazard mapping exercises that have been conducted by our local and regional partners since 2004. The Base Map is a computer modelling product that will eventually incorporate both existing and new field-based stream geomorphic data (e.g., it does not yet reflect all those places where bedrock confines the stream channel). The ANR Rivers Program welcomes the opportunity to work directly with municipal and regional planning commissions in this process to ensure that the Statewide River Corridor Layer becomes a meaningful flood resiliency planning tool.

 

Two documents are attached;

 

ANR Releasing River Corridor Base Map: gives background information on why the state has generated a statewide map, provides links to other river corridor and flood hazard mitigation planning information, and list the local data that may yet be incorporated to build a robust Statewide River Corridor Layer.

 

Reviewing the River Corridor Base Map: explains the types of map refinements the ANR is hoping to make before posting the Statewide Map on the ANR Natural Resource Atlas early in the new year and how people may participate in that process.

Please forward this email to those in town governance or serving on municipal commissions whom you think would be interested in this information and click for more information about the map review and refinement process, river corridors, river corridor planning, and other frequently asked questions.

 

 

 

modifiedWSMD

Mike Kline, State Rivers Program Manager

(802) 490-6155

mike.kline@state.vt.us

http://www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/rivers.htm

 

DEC Watershed Management Division

1 National Life Drive, Main 2

Montpelier, VT 05620-3522

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Vermont Land Link

Vermont Land Link is now up! For many new and established farmers, simply finding available land is a huge challenge. On the other side of the equation, more and more private, public and organizational landowners want to make land available for farming. This free and user-friendly portal now makes those important connections possible. Many thanks to the Lamoille Economic Development Corporation, Land Link's featured underwriter, and to the Vermont Farmland Access Network and its supporting agencies for creating this much-needed resource! For more information, visit: www.vermontlandlink.org

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The NVDA Wind Study Committee

"The NVDA Wind Study Committee was formed in response to the NVDA Board of Directors July 2012 adoption of a resolution recommending a suspension of industrial-scale (height of 200 ft. or greater) wind turbines for a 3-year period for further study".

Committee members include: Jim Greenwood (Chair), Mark Whitworth, Farley Brown, Robert Croteau, and David Snedeker (NVDA staff). The Committee meets at the Barton Town Office approximately every three weeks. Please contact NVDA to check on upcoming meetings. Meeting minutes will be posted soon.

Meeting schedule:
2/20/13, 6:00pm Barton Town Office  Minutes
3/13/13, 6:00pm Barton Town Office  Minutes
4/03/13, 6:30pm Barton Town Office (guest: Dave Hallquist, VEC)  Minutes
4/24/13, 6:30pm Barton Town Office (guest: Billy Coster, ANR) Minutes

5/08/13, 6:30pm Barton Town Office (guest: Anne Margolis, PSD) Minutes

5/29/13, 6:30pm Barton Village Community Center(guest: John Soininen, Eolian) Minutes
 Eolian Presentation

 8/14/13 at 7:00pm at the Barton Town Office (guest: Kerrick Johnson, VELCO) VELCO - Interconnecting Wind NVT, VELCO - System Reliability Renewable Generation Minutes

9/4/13 at 6:30 at the Barton Town Office. (guest Kevin Jones, VT Law School and Steve Therrien) Minutes
9/26/13, 6:30pm at the Barton Town Office. (Guests: Robt. Dostis, GMP; Jason Shafer, LSC) Health Effects - Peer Review Lit_KCW, KWC Fact Sheet, JShafer WindResource Presentation, Minutes

11/06/13, 6:30pm at the Barton Town Office.  (Guest: Dr. David Grass, VT Dept. of Health) Minutes, Health Reviewed Lit., Infrasound report, Fall Testing Rpt., Winter Testing Rpt.

1/6/14 (Guest: Gloria Bruce, NEKTTA) 9am at NVDA Office in St. Johnsbury  Minutes

1/29/14, 6:30pm, at the Barton Town Office. (Guest: Ben Luce) Minutes

 Antrim Wind Avoided Emissions Report, Renewable Energy Options

 

Wind Study - Draft Report - Attachment A, Attachment B, Attachment C, Attachment D, Attachment E, Attachment F

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NVDA Distributes Monthly Progress Reports

 

Since the NEK Economic Development Initiative was announced in September 2012, by Bill Stenger and partners, NVDA has received inquiries about the project's employment opportunities, infrastructure improvements, transportation plans, housing impacts, and timelines. To connect and share information, NVDA distributes a monthly e-mail Progress Report containing information on the work-in-progress, links and contact information, EB-5 status updates, and meeting announcements.  The Reports are sent electronically at the end of each month to a broad community audience of NEK residents, businesses, municipalities and stakeholders. Back issues are available for reference on this website: Resources & Opportunities / Studies and Reports / Newsletter Archives.